On this day in movie history - Sniper: The White Raven (2022):

Sniper: The White Raven

directed by Marian Bushan,

written by Marian Bushan and Mykola Voronin,

based on the true life and experiences of Mykola Voronin,

was released in Ukraine on August 24, 2022.
Music by Nadiia Odesuk / Nadya Odesyuk.

Saturday, August 24, 2024.

My forthcoming nonfiction book on movies is going through its final revisions, with 437 pages complete.

I first saw Sniper: The White Raven back in April (2024), on The Movie Channel.

After watching it, I had to include and recommend it in my book.

Based on the true life and experiences of Mykola Voronin, an ecologist, teacher and writer.

He lived a simple life off the grid with his wife, Nastya, in Donbas, Ukraine.

In 2014, Russian soldiers invaded and murdered his wife.

Mykola, fueled by rage and the need for justice and vengeance for his wife, enlisted in the Ukrainian Army.

He trained, became a sniper, and fought back.

He switched from idealistic pacifist to warrior, assigning himself the codename Raven, in reference to the White Raven symbol his wife placed in stones outside their home.

Mykola vowed to defend Ukraine.

Russia senselessly invaded Ukraine again in 2022.

This movie and true story couldn’t be more topical or important.

Powerful.

Real.

Raw.

Tragic.

Heartbreaking.

We stand with Ukraine.

Victory to Ukraine.

Glory to Ukraine.

Slava Ukraini.

Cast:

Pavlo Aldoshyn, Maryna Koshkina, Andrey Mostrenko, Roman Semysal, Oleg Drach, Roman Yasinovskiy, Oleg Shulga, Vadim Lyalko, Vadim Kurilko, Vladyslav Dmytrenko, Eugen Volosheniuk, Oleksandr Bykov, Serhiy Artemenko, Egor Kozlov, Zachary Shadrin, Olena Chervonenko, Demyan Radzivilyuk, Alina Karpenko, Anatoly Tikhomirov, Yanina Andreeva, Evhen Chernykov, Igor Parkhomenko, Vitaliy Kovalskyy, Oleksiy Storozhuk, Vitaliy Belskyy, Aleksandr Dyumin, Oleksiy Nakonechnyi, Andriy Yakubov, Kyrylo Goz, Vitaly Kalyuzhny, Mike Parish, Adrian Petriw.

On this day in music history - Change, by Sue Foley (2004):

The album Change,

by Sue Foley,

was released on August 24, 2004.

On this day in movie history - A Strange Adventure (1956)

A Strange Adventure,

directed by William Witney,

written by Houston Branch,

was released in the United States on August 24, 1956.
Music by R. Dale Butts.

Cast:
Joan Evans, Ben Cooper, Marla English, Jan Merlin, Nick Adams, Peter Miller, Paul Smith, Emlen Davies, Frank Wilcox, Thomas Browne Henry, John Maxwell, Steve Wayne, Wendell Niles, John Pickard, Jack Shea, Ken Terrell, Al Wyatt Sr.

On this day in movie history - Pitfall (1948):

Pitfall,

directed by André de Toth,

written by Karl Kamb, André de Toth and William Bowers,

based on the novel The Pitfall by Jay Dratler,

was released in the United States on August 24, 1948.
Music by Louis Forbes.

Cast:
Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, Raymond Burr, John Litel, Byron Barr, Jimmy Hunt, Ann Doran, Selmer Jackson, Margaret Wells, Dick Wessel.

Born on this day – Helena Carter:

Helena Carter

Actress

August 24, 1923 – January 11, 2000

Born on this day – Joan Chandler:

Joan Chandler

Actress

August 24, 1923 – May 11, 1979

Born on this day – Dorothy Comingore:

Dorothy Comingore

Actress

August 24, 1913 – December 30, 1971

Born on this day – Gertrude Bambrick:

Gertrude Bambrick

Actress

August 24, 1897 – January 10, 1974

Credits:

A Circumstantial Hero (1913); A Compromising Complication (1913); A Horse on Bill (1913); A Limited Divorce (1912); A Ragtime Romance (1913); A Real Estate Deal (1912); A Saturday Holiday (1913); A Spring Chicken (1916); All Hail to the King (1913); Almost a Wild Man (1913); An Old Maid's Deception (1913); As It Might Have Been (1914); Aunts, Too Many! (1913); Baby Indisposed (1913); Broken Ways (1913); Brothers (1913); Cinderella and the Boob (1913); Cupid and the Cook (1913); Divorcons (1915); Faust and the Lily (1913); For the Son of the House (1913); Frappe Love (1913); Gold and Glitter (1912); Highbrow Love (1913); His Hoodoo (1913); Intolerance (1916); Jenks Becomes a Desperate Character (1913); Judith of Bethulia (1914); Just Kids (1913); Liberty Belles (1914); Love in an Apartment Hotel (1913); Master Jefferson Green (1913); McGann and His Octette (1913); Mr. Spriggs Buys a Dog (1913); Near to Earth (1913); Objections Overruled (1913); Oil and Water (1913); Red Hicks Defies the World (1913); The Adventures of Dollie (1912); The Billionaire (1914); The End of the World (1913); The God Within (1912); The Hicksville Epicure (1913); The King and the Copper (1913); The Lady in Black (1913); The Mothering Heart (1913); The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912); The New York Hat (1912); The One She Loved (1912); The Perfidy of Mary (1913); The Reformers; or, the Lost Art of Minding One's Business (1913); The Rejuvenation of Aunt Mary (1916); The Skating Rink (1916); The Suffragette Minstrels (1913); The Telephone Girl and the Lady (1913); The Waiter Who Waited (1915); The Widow's Kids (1913); The Winning Punch (1913); Those Little Flowers (1913); Two Daughters of Eve (1912); Virtue Is Its Own Reward (1914); Who's Looney Now? (1914).

Born on this day – Victor Halperin:

Victor Halperin

Actor

Director

Producer

Writer

August 24, 1895 – May 17, 1983

Recommended reading - Danse Macabre (2012):

Danse Macabre (2012).

By Stephen King.

Published by Hachette Book Group.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 9781444723267

ISBN-13: 978-1444723267

Description:

From the author of dozens of #1 New York Times bestsellers and the creator of many unforgettable movies comes a vivid, intelligent, and nostalgic journey through three decades of horror as experienced through the eyes of the most popular writer in the genre. In 1981, years before he sat down to tackle On Writing, Stephen King decided to address the topic of what makes horror horrifying and what makes terror terrifying. Here, in ten brilliantly written chapters, King delivers one colorful observation after another about the great stories, books, and films that comprise the horror genre—from Frankenstein and Dracula to The Exorcist, The Twilight Zone, and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers.

With the insight and good humor his fans appreciated in On Writing, Danse Macabre is an enjoyably entertaining tour through Stephen King’s beloved world of horror.

The author whose boundless imagination and storytelling powers have redefined the horror genre, from 1974’s Carrie to his new epic Under the Dome, reflects on the very nature of terror – what scares us and why – in films (both cheesy and choice), television and radio, and, of course, the horror novel, past and present.

Informal, engaging, tremendous fun, and tremendously informative, Danse Macabre is an essential tour with the master of horror as your guide; much like his spellbinding works of fiction, you won’t be able to put it down.

Recommended reading - On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000):

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000).

By Stephen King.

Published by Scribner.

This edition published in 2020.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1982159375

ISBN-13: 978-1982159375

Description:

"A one-of-a-kind classic." – The Wall Street Journal.

"On Writing had more useful and observant things to say about the craft than any book since Strunk and White's The Elements of Style." – Roger Ebert.

"This is a special book, animated by a unique intelligence, and filled with useful truth." – Michael Chabon.

“The best book on writing. Ever.” – The Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999 – and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it – fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Behind every stack of books is a flood of knowledge:

Behind every stack of books is a flood of knowledge.

Graham Greene, on writing:

A story has no beginning or end:

arbitrarily one chooses that moment from which to look back or from which to look ahead.

- Graham Greene.