Extras from A Christmas Story Called to Reunite
Calling all members of the fictitious Class of ’83!
It’s time for a massive 25th reunion for all those who attended the briefly named Warren G. Harding elementary school on Niagara Street in St. Catharines.
Those students were witnesses back in 1983 to the transformation of Victoria School from an ordinary place of education to an A Christmas Story film set.
Dozens of children at the school were used as extras in the Hollywood movie about a boy in 1940s Indiana who longs for a Red Ryder BB gun.
St. Catharines students appear in classroom scenes and schoolyard shots, outfitted in horn-rimmed glasses and fur-collared coats.
Since the seasonal film appeared in theatres almost 25 years ago, it’s gained cult-like status, with a huge fan base and its own museum.
“Especially in the States, there are so many rabid fans of this movie,†said former Port Colborne resident Tyler Schwartz, now living in Oakville.
This November, with help from Schwartz, A Christmas Story House and Museum in Cleveland is inviting anyone connected with the St. Catharines shoot to its 25th anniversary celebration and convention.
St. Catharines extras are being sought to participate in a panel discussion on stage about their memories.
“We’ll be asking them what it was like when Hollywood came to town,†Schwartz said.
Fans want to hear about what really happened behind the scenes, where students were paid $1 each.
They are hoping some of the grown-up classmates will want to share their experiences.
“A lot of kids were in the background playing in the schoolyard. There were about 20 in the actual classroom who were more prominent. And six were in the flagpole scene,†Schwartz said.
Last year, 5,000 people showed up for convention weekend celebrations at the museum. This year, the 25th anniversary of the film will add heightened excitement.
In addition to the panel discussions by former St. Catharines students, another convention highlight will be the appearance of a fire truck from Chippawa.
The truck was used in a scene in which firefighters rescue a boy whose tongue is stuck to a flagpole.
The St. Catharines Museum is also loaning an original script, Ralphie’s glasses and a Red Ryder BB gun to the Cleveland museum for the event, according to the the convention website.
Several actors from the movie will be on hand and a documentary about the film is being premiered.
Schwartz said he wants to organize a reunion in St. Catharines some time in the future. For now, he hopes the grown-up kids from Victoria School will travel to Cleveland and participate in the reunion Nov. 28 and 29.
Former students won’t want to miss the unveiling of a St. Catharines room, with items from the former Victoria School.
“They’ve got the chalkboard and door from the classroom,†Schwartz said. “They are looking to add more pieces.â€
Courtesy of St. Catherines Standard
How Facebook Ruined Christmas
Facebook Beacon ruined Christmas and a group of its members are not going to let the social networking site forget it.
A group of irked Facebook members filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook Tuesday that said the company’s controversial Beacon advertising program violates several laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA).
Beacon, which launched in late 2007, basically tracked the activity of Facebook members on certain partner sites and then posted an item in users’ news feeds when they purchased something.
Bought movie tickets on Fandango, or new shoes on overstock.com? If you failed to click “no” on a blink-and-you-miss-it notice during checkout, your Facebook newsfeed would soon read “Chloe bought Dark Knight on Fandango.”
That might not seem too harmful, but what if you bought tickets to “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” on Fandango or a copy of “He’s Just Not That Into You” on overstock.com? Suddenly, all 200 of our closest “friends” are privy to that information.
That’s what happened to people like Sean Lane, a plaintiff in the class-action suit. He bought a ring for his wife as a Christmas present via overstock.com, but the surprise was ruined when Overstock sent the information to Facebook. “Sean Lane bought a 14K White Gold 1/5 ct Diamond Eternity Flower Ring from overstock.com” showed up on his news feed, which was visible to his wife.
After a protest campaign spearheaded by MoveOn.org that accused Facebook Beacon of ruining Christmas, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg issued a mea culpa and altered Beacon to allow users to block partner Web sites from sending your information to the news feed.
That apparently was not enough for the 32 plaintiffs who filed suit on Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
“The heart of the conduct complained of involved the communication, transmission, and interception of personally identifying information and personal private data of the class members,” according to the suit.
Also named in the suit are partner sites Fandango, Hotwire, STA Travel, GameFly, Blockbuster, Overstock, andZappos.com.
Beacon violated the ECPA because Facebook intentionally obtained electronic communications between their members and partner sites and disclosed that information to a third party, according to the suit.
The program violated the VPPA because video retailers Blockbuster, Fandango, GameFly and overstock.com released information about their customers’ video usage without permission.
The VPPA was passed in 1988 after the video rental history of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork was published in a newspaper during his nomination process. Congress found that the videos one chooses to watch is deeply personal and should not be made public without permission.
Beacon also violated the CFFA by accessing a computer without permission, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also says Beacon was in violation of two California laws – the Consumer Legal Remedies Act and the California Computer Crime Law.
The lawsuit wants Facebook to hand over any money it earned from Beacon, pay attorneys’ fees and other costs, delete any information it obtained about the plaintiffs, never collect personal information about them without permission again, and consent to some sort of independent review to make sure Facebook is following the rules.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the company had not yet been served with the lawsuit and could not yet comment on it.
Appears courtesy of PC Magazine
Johnny Cash Christmas Re-Issued
The Man in Black goes red and green with the coming reissue of two late-‘70s holiday specials featuring Kris Kristofferson, Anne Murray, Steve Martin and Tom T. Hall.
The 1978 and ’79 installments of The Johnny Cash Christmas Special, which became a staple of network yuletide programming for a decade, will be released Oct. 7, along with a four-DVD box that pairs the two new titles with the 1976 and ’77 editions, which came out last year. The footage has been out of circulation for nearly three decades and is finding its way to the public through a joint effort by Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Kris and then-wife Rita Coolidge are featured with Steve Martin in the ’78 set, shot in Los Angeles. Kris and Rita team with Johnny and wife June Carter on the bluegrass classic “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’,” while Johnny and June reprise the Gene Cotton/Kim Carnes duet from that year, “You’re A Part Of Me.” The hour closes with all the Cash daughters — including Rosanne Cash and Carlene Carter — joining their parents on “Silent Night.”
The 1979 DVD opens with an Andy Kaufman comedy sketch, interspersing Christmas songs with hits such as Anne’s “You Needed Me,” Johnny’s “(Ghost) Riders In The Sky” and Tom T.’s “(Old Dogs, Children And) Watermelon Wine.”
Shout! Factory has left open the possibility that all the Johnny Cash Christmas specials will eventually be released on DVD.
