An Interview With Co-Writer & Director John Anderson
Tammy, 2019:
Chicago-based filmmaker John Anderson is co-writer and director, the editor and pretty much everything else for In Glorious Smell-O-Vision! the documentary. I asked John to remember how he got caught up in this international web of Smell-O-Vision! enthusiasts and this is what he said.
John Anderson:
In March of 2017 I got an email from a friend who said that a woman in Australia was making a documentary about Smell-O-Vision! and might need some help in Chicago, where I’m based. It sounded interesting, and I contacted Tammy to learn more. She speaks quickly and the long-distance satellite connection doesn’t help, but it sounded like she said she needed me to get an interview with Art Shay, the celebrated photojournalist who documented Smell-O-Vision!’s Chicago premiere for Life Magazine in 1960. When I learned during our conversation that one of her most prized possessions is an audiocassette given to her in 1984 by the director of the first and only Smell-O-Vision! feature release, it became clear to me she was obsessed, and I knew I was in the right place.
Art appeared to be expecting me when I showed up a few days later. Few who experience Smell-O-Vision! have a neutral position on it, and Art, at the age of 95, is no exception. After we got the lights set and the camera rolling, he started by saying, “Smell-O-Vision! is like being a bystander in a street accident.” He described, “. . . the inventors of the process (Swiss scientist Hans Laube and film producer Michael Todd, Jr.), down in the basement of the theatre, piping up orange blossom scent over the audience’s face. You couldn’t help but wish that James Joyce were there to get all this down.”
Art remembered every detail of that star-studded night 57 years earlier, and he went on to discuss other aspects of his illustrious career, including his work with Willie Mays and the time he slept with Elizabeth Taylor.
She speaks quickly and the accent doesn’t make it any easier to understand what she’s saying, but it sounded like the next thing Tammy wanted me to do was go to NYC to interview Hans Laube’s daughter Carmen and meet Hans’ miraculous invention The Smell Brain.
Carmen makes it easy to imagine The Smell Brain’s plates spinning, pumps pumping, dials turning and sonic booms booming as precisely-timed scents were launched hundreds of feet into American movie houses, the whole process having been masterminded, manufactured and put into operation by her father, a visionary and sometimes eccentric Swiss osmologist. Carmen’s eloquence in describing the creative spirit that drove her father, and its effects on his loved ones, provides one-of-a-kind insight into the how and why behind this important moment in cinematic history. Getting to know Carmen has been one of the highlights of this project for me so far
Meanwhile, Tammy brought in the Power Trio of Post-Production: Nadia Roden on Animation, Peter Dasent on Music and Michelle French on Motion Graphics Design, each of whom went above and beyond in every way. Very special thanks also to Mia Barker, Brendan Young, John Foley, Dave Strohmaier and Randy Gitsch for their important contributions.
She speaks quickly and the 15-hour time difference is irrelevant because she doesn’t sleep, but I think what Tammy said next was that I should interview Susan Jane Todd, daughter of Scent of Mystery producer Michael Todd, Jr., in Santa Fe, which was made possible by Genevieve Russell’s beautiful cinematographic work.
Many thanks to Susan for sharing her recollections of her amazing father and grandfather – the legendary entrepreneur Michael Todd – without both of whom Smell-O-Vision! wouldn’t have happened, and for the warm, thoughtful and humorous way that she does it. In this clip she explains the complicated relationship between the two men.
Part of my role has been to organize the visual materials, given that the footage collected over the years from around the globe by Tammy and her team encompasses every format and frame rate available, plus a few not yet invented. Likewise, the countries inhabited by people who have contributed to this project span the globe, further testament to Tammy’s contagious enthusiasm.
She speaks quickly and she knows what she’s talking about, and when I took Tammy to her first American baseball game she could explain the Infield Fly Rule. She’s fun and patient and mostly I want to thank her for leading the way with her passion, commitment, creative instincts and collaborative spirit.
John Anderson and Sandy Warren’s new blues documentary ‘Horn From The Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story’ was hailed as the “#1 Rock Documentary of The Year” by Richie Unterberger / Folkrocks and is available everywhere.
John received a Grammy nomination for directing “Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE”.
You can visit John Anderson’s website below.
Love this post…great story and fabulous images. Thanks for helping to satisfy my curiosity about how you both came to collaborate on this wonderful project 🙂 …and congratulations on making the dream happen, despite the challenges of living in different time-zones and hemispheres…it goes to show that when you have a shared passions, good communication and mutual respect, anything is possible! X
Thank you Carolyn, for this and for ALL your help with the maze that is archival research!
Hey there this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know
if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding expertise so
I wanted to get advice from someone with experience.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you, I have just been searching for info
approximately this topic for ages and yours is the best I’ve
discovered so far. But, what in regards to the conclusion?
Are you positive in regards to the source?
Wonderful website you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any user
discussion forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get comments from other experienced people that share the same interest.
If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Cheers!
It’s going to be ending of mine day, except before end I am reading this great article to increase my
knowledge.
Hello this is somewhat of off topic but I was wondering if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with
HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding expertise so I wanted to get guidance
from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
First of all I would like to say excellent blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear
your thoughts prior to writing. I’ve had difficulty clearing my mind in getting
my ideas out. I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like
the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or tips?
Thanks!
What a material of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious knowledge about unexpected emotions.
I am extremely impressed along with your writing skills and also with the structure for your blog.
Is this a paid subject matter or did you modify it yourself?
Either way stay up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog
like this one these days..
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for
cbd oil that works 2020
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an extremely long comment
but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to
say great blog!
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three
e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Thanks!
I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I
never found any interesting article like yours.
It is pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion,
if all site owners and bloggers made good content as you
did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.
Why people still make use of to read news papers when in this technological globe the whole thing is presented on web?
Heya i’m for the primary time here. I came across this board and I
in finding It truly helpful & it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to provide one
thing back and aid others such as you aided me.
There’s certainly a lot to know about this topic. I love all the points you made.
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this outstanding blog!
I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to new updates and will share this blog with
my Facebook group. Talk soon!
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and
now each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service? Bless you!
After going over a few of the articles on your website, I truly appreciate your technique of blogging.
I book marked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back in the near future.
Take a look at my website too and let me know what you think.
After looking at a handful of the blog posts on your site, I honestly appreciate your technique of blogging.
I added it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my
web site too and tell me how you feel.
Aw, this was a really nice post. Finding the time
and actual effort to make a superb article…
but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and don’t seem to
get nearly anything done.
Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉 I am going to revisit yet again since I saved as a favorite it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change,
may you be rich and continue to guide others.
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging
on websites I stumbleupon everyday. It will always be useful to read content from other authors
and practice something from other sites.
If some one wants expert view regarding blogging and site-building afterward i
propose him/her to pay a quick visit this weblog, Keep up the fastidious job.
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me
of my previous room mate! He always kept chatting about this.
I will forward this write-up to him. Fairly certain he will have
a good read. Many thanks for sharing!
It’s really a cool and useful piece of info. I am satisfied that you just shared this helpful information with us.
Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
adreamoftrains best web hosting
Fastidious replies in return of this matter with real arguments
and describing all regarding that.