The Death of Culture

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is no more high culture—no painting, no sculpture, no theatre, no opera, no pleasure in language.

High culture is a defunct privilege, drowned out by the shrieks of the many.

The rabblement hooted and clapped their chapped hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps and uttered such a deal of stinking breath that it had almost choked Caesar—for he swooned and fell down at it. And for mine own part, I durst not laugh for fear of opening my lips and receiving the bad air.

Oh, well. Let me remind you what gorgeousness used to be, what comedy used to be, what books used to be, what France used to be, what movies used to be, what books and movies still can be.

Awaken me from this pod-people nightmare!

RM

Robert MacLean is an independent filmmaker. His The Light Touch is on Amazon Prime, Tubi and Scanbox, and his 7-minute comedy is an out-loud laugh. He is also a novelist, a playwright, a blogger, a YouTuber, a film reviewer, a literary critic, and a stand-up comic poet. Born Toronto, taught at Canadian universities, too cold, live Greece, Irish citizen. No brains but an intellectual snob.

Bo Derek on Indiegogo

The Light Touch on Amazon Prime

The Natural Wish to Be Robert MacLean

The Devil's Pleasure Garden

"Football [soccer, for many of us] is a game for gentlemen played by thugs; rugby is a game for thugs played by gentlemen."—Tommy Cameron, bartender at the James Joyce pub in Athens

CITY OF MASKS

A Venetian Thriller

 Reg’d © Library of Congress

A playboy accused of murder disguises himself and leads the police on a chase through Venice.

Think of...

and of...

When Philip’s mistress the Contessa Antonia falls to her death and leaves him money, the police find that his former mistress had done the same—

—and Philip escapes over the rooftops through the Venice labyrinth, changing disguises as fast as he changes protectors.

Someone, he realizes, did kill Antonia, and is now trying to kill the rich American lady who’s taken him in—and who plans to marry him to her virginal niece.

Caught between the police and the murderer, between a crooked lawyer and a gay priest, between women who love and betray him, Philip slips, tears, swims, sails, jumps, races, hide-and-seeks through Venice—his co-star—to the final masquerade.

Proposed cast: Pierce Brosnan (Philip Fanchester)

PHILIP is by profession a lady’s gentleman—and he is a gentleman, despite all the challenges.  He has more fun than he perhaps should but it looks good on him.

Proposed cast: Tamsin Egerton (Audrey)

AUDREY is shy, romantic, protected, intellectual, emotionally a bit of a waif but a perfect lady.  Her aunt Mrs Clark betroths her to Philip almost on a whim.

Proposed cast: Kathy Bates (Mrs Clark)

American and imperious MRS CLARK, robust rather than elegant, takes Philip in when she should turn him over to the police, follows her instinct and trusts him implicitly.

Proposed cast: Lily Cole (Gaby) 

GABY, Contessa Antonia's teenage maid, adores Philip, misses no chance to tease him, helps him escape—and does murder.

Proposed cast: Nick Moran (Father Tomasso)

Father TOMASSO, a man of perfect integrity, hides his old friend against the advice of his fellow priest, who fears that his love for Philip is not entirely Christian.

Proposed cast: Anna Friel (Angela)

ANGELA, beautiful, superficial, much too rich but utterly charming, typifies Philip's old circle and hopes he murdered his mistress so he could be with her. “Angela, darling, anybody can be with you.”

Attached:

And the seventh character is VENICE, the only place this story could happen.

Pretentious Pictures presents a UK-Italian co-production of a Venetian thriller.

Reg’d © Library of Congress