Oct.30
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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: M*A*S*H Was Robert Altman's Attempt to Make a Jean-Luc Godard Film

The famous 1970 film M*A*S*H, which led to the even more famous TV series of the same name, was roundly praised by critics when it came out, with many of them commenting on how new and different the style of the movie was (in particular, the documentary feel, jump cuts, and use of overlapping dialogue). And the film was pretty new and different among American films. But those who were paying attention to world cinema would have noticed that M*A*S*H was very obviously channeling the 1965 Jean-Luc Godard film Pierrot le Fou. Certainly, Godard noticed it, which is what led the two filmmakers to collaborate, along with others, on the much less successful Aria (1987). There is approximately one of these "different directors each direct a segment" films that actually worked out well, and Aria was not the one (How the West Was Won was).

We had two hints last week, as we usually (but not always) do. The first was "the theme is very timely. Like, within the last 24 hours, as of the moment that we publish this. Maybe even the last 12 hours." The second was "We really wanted to work M*A*S*H into a headline, but just couldn't swing it."

And here is the solution, courtesy of reader D.D. in Bucks County, PA:

In this spooky season, with the jack-o'lantern trying not to "scare it"self, this week's headlines all contain the names of movies and TV shows with the recently deceased Tom Skerritt: And here's a question: Is Tom Skerritt the only actor to be in two movies that are an anagram of each other? (Swing and Wings)

There certainly can't be many actors for whom that is true.

We finally got M*A*S*H in there, in this item's headline. And note that we are generally tolerant of answers that are in the right ballpark. So, for example, we accepted "Tom Skerritt movies," even though Cheers is a TV show. However, it was necessary to mention Skerritt.

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

  1. M.B. in Albany, NY
  2. M.W. in Altea, Spain
  3. T.V. in Dinwiddie, VA
  4. R.H.O. in Portland, ME
  5. P.S. in Atlanta, GA
  6. M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
  7. R.H. in Cleveland, OH
  8. S.G. in Durham, NC
  9. P.Q. in Metuchen, NJ
  10. J.T. in Philadelphia, PA
  11. S.K. in Ardmore, PA
  12. M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
  13. R.S. in Landing, NJ
  14. S.K. in Bethesda, MD
  15. C.B. in Lakeville, MN
  16. D.D. in Highland Park, IL
  17. D.E. in High Springs, FL
  18. P.A. in Redwood City, CA
  19. B.C. in Manhattan Beach, CA
  20. D.B. in Pottstown, PA
  21. R.P.E.H in London, England, UK
  22. J.C. in Carmel, IN
  23. L.D. in Bedford, MA
  24. J.M.R. in Muncie, IN
  25. G.S. in Basingstoke, England, UK
  26. B.F. in Baltimore, MD
  27. E.A. in York, PA
  28. T.K. in Manchester, MO
  29. M.S. in Canton, NY
  30. P.H. in Ft Lauderdale, FL
  1. K.H. in Albuquerque, NM
  2. M.C. in Valley, NE
  3. M.S. in Highland Park, IL
  4. C.W. in Atlantic Beach, FL
  5. S.S. in San Diego, CA
  6. M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
  7. W.V. in Hemet, CA
  8. I.H. in Occupied DC
  9. J.H. in Flint, MI
  10. C.O. in Marion, IA
  11. D.M. in Grand Rapids, MI
  12. R.B. in Richmond, VA
  13. M.K. in Forest Hills, NY
  14. P.H. in Bozeman, MT
  15. T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts
  16. K.M. in Ypsilanti, MI
  17. C.A. in Richmond, VA
  18. M.K. in Long Branch, NJ
  19. E.B. North Liberty, IA
  20. S.B. in Palm Harbor, FL
  21. B.A. in Sioux Falls, SD
  22. H.B. in Santiago, Chile
  23. R.S. in Milan, OH
  24. B.S. in Ottawa, ON, Canada
  25. L.F. in Webster Groves, MO
  26. D.M. in Austin, TX
  27. J.M. in Arvada, CO
  28. D.L. in Uslar, Germany
  29. B.R. in Arlington, MA
  30. J.H. in Lake Forest, CA

The 60th correct response was received at 7:27 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word in some headlines, multiple words in others, and it's in the category Entertainment. For a hint, we'll say we don't like to repeat the same "bit" in close proximity, but sometimes events are beyond our control.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line October 30 Headlines. (Z)


This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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