You had best believe that you cannot build what I don't need

Rare thunderstorms in LA are ushering me to Britain today. 

My itinerary-- a year in the making-- has me feeling a bit shot out of a cannon, but is entirely my own doing. I haven't been back to Scotland since the day I got on the bus in that last wind down to the end. I had that taste of London on the way back from Africa, and I'll admit I still associate the place with the only thing in my life I've ever felt like I failed at. I cried on the circle in. I have felt and still feel a rough letting go of that place and the life I saw for myself there. 

It becomes more complicated the more entrenched I get in my LA life; the more I love it. 

As I cross over anniversaries and milestones, unremarked upon, the more I am having to redefine myself against the hardline definitions I had of myself earlier in my life. I can say to myself now--- you've been away from New  York as long as you were ever there. Why do you still consider yourself a New Yorker? You don't really miss it, you only miss Europe. But LA... 

I still feel torn about my intent. My intent to live as one or many of the incarnations of myself. 

I'm scared of falling out of my life here by being gone so long. I'm scared of missing an opportunity that I've painstakingly built a foundation for here. 

I'm scared it's still not enough time to be in any of the places I'm going to settle into the rhythm. Scared it's not enough time to catch back that magic of my life there. I'm scared that the way I was there will be at odds with the way I am now and I won't be able to reconcile them. I'm scared my practice will fall off and I won't chant because of time, and mindset, and my friends' hard disbelief in Buddhism. 

But CHVRCHES has got my back. Giving us all a new song to sing me to Scotland. And a new album this September 25 -- Every Open Eye. 

And I'm going to give it my best go to report to whatever readers are left here. I can't guarantee I'll be able to. I can't guarantee I'll have anything or anything worthwhile to say. But if I do, I'll be here. Hope to see you.

Onward. To the East and to the North. To London, Edinburgh, Bamff, Skye, Uist, Geneva, Provence, Lugano and everywhere in between, to Dublin, to Clare and back again. 

Fire & the Romance on Alt 98.7

This Sunday will be the mash up of two of my favorite things... and none of them will be the Oscars, so sorry about that. Nope, I'm talking about two of my oldest friends from opposite coasts and sides of my life gettin together to broadcast some new music. 

Dion Roy, one of my oldest friends in NYC (you might remember when I spoke at his and Aly's wedding in Aug 2012) has a new music project, Fire and the Romance. It's a pretty huge and ambitious departure from his previous (and super successful, I might add) efforts in the singer/songwriter genre. And I gotta say, I am loving the results!

He and Pete (of subway friend fame and awesome photog skillz) made this baller video for the first single, "Way Down Below." 

And NOW, THIS SUNDAY, Dion will pair up with one of my oldest friends from the Vegas days and my current LA partner in mischief and mayhem, Kade, to premiere "Way Down Below" on Kade's New Music Discovery Show on ALT 98.7, LA's Alternative (aka the only radio station I listen to.) 

It's at 7PM Pacific time. So make sure you tune in during the boring speeches and endless awards. 

Tune in on Sunday, support Kade and Dion and check out all the offerings from the King Of Tacos, Dion Roy aka Fire and the Romance. Tweet the guys (@fireandthemusic @alt987fm @kadeshow) when you hear “Way Down Below” for a chance to win a ONE of a kind hand-pressed Vinyl of the song!

Music Monday - MS MR - Secondhand Rapture

New York-based duo, MS MR have been releasing critically praised singles since about this time last year. They've drawn comparisons to Kavinsky and even Florence + The Machine and have been remixed by pretty much everyone. They've also spent much of the last year touring with Jessie Ware. 

Next week, we finally get a full album: Secondhand Rapture. But you don't even have to wait that long to stream the whole album before its May 14th drop date. Listen NOW here.

Welcome to the innner workings of my mind...

Some of my fave remixes by CHVRCHES & NICITA:

And the original:

Manufacture New York & Bob Bland on CBS News

My lovely and visionary friend, Bob Bland, was on CBS news for her extraordinary efforts on behalf for local manufacturing of clothing products in the US, and specifically in New York. I'm so on board with her Manufacture New York. 

Here's a snippet from the new program:

There was a time when clothes worn by Americans were also made here. By 2011, more than 97 percent of the clothes sold in the U.S. was made overseas. Fashion designer turned apparel advocate Bob Bland explains why in an interview with "CBS Evening News" Saturday anchor Jim Axelrod. She's behind Manufacture New York, a new initiative to bring clothes manufacturing jobs back home.

It's not a good deal if the true cost is someone dying in the process.

All The Buildings in New York

Australian artist/illustrator James Gulliver Hancock started this project while he was experiencing a nomadic period in his life I'm well familiar with. He lived in Vienna, Paris, London and started drawing the buildings as a way to become more intimate with the cities he was in and distance himself from the feeling of being a tourist. 

Now that he spends most of his time in New York-- a city he says we all romanticize in one way or another (preach.)-- his mission is to make his way through the boroughs drawing all the buildings in New York. You can sort by type, by neighborhood, by borough... just... AH!

It fulfills a deep part of me to both romanticize, fetishize, fixate and also to organize, to put something huge and complicated and beautiful into an artistic space feasible to wrap my brain around. That's one thing I've always liked about NYC anyhow... my ability to conceptualize its entirety because of its geographical size, prevalence of landmarks and organization into grids, boroughs and neighborhoods with relatively neat borders. (Same goes for Edinburgh. Not for London or for LA.)

I have to tell you,art projects like this turns me into a kid on a sugar high. I love it. I love it. Happy Monday. 

(Also, Happy April Fool's Day, if you're into that sort of thing. I don't really participate in that because feeling foolish is perhaps my least favorite feeling and I certainly don't wish it on anyone else.)

All the Buildings in New York from Marisa Guzman-Aloia on Vimeo.

Art in the Burn Off Friday Links

Isolation really makes me start to see things from the weirdest corners of my perspective. It's not untrue, it's just slanted and very very peripheral. Which is why I was so glad this week to stop depriving myself of the company of others as some kind of punishment for the things I've yet to figure out. 

Thankful for more work coming my way, always for the hikes, for Latte, for friends and champions visiting from New York, for all the possibilities that remain open, the people who haven't yet told me no definitively. 

Also, it's my birthday next week. I'm not thrilled about the number, but I am excited for an excuse to celebrate in multiple cities, as is becoming my style.

Here are your links:

- Um, this whisky residue art is amazingly beautiful. Art + whisky. Perfect.
- What it was like to be a TGIF sitcom writer.
- Good interview with composer/lyricist of Matilda, Tim Minchin.
- Kate Makkai on prettiness
- Amanda Palmer at TED on the Art of Asking.
- I was cool with Les Miz, but this honest trailer is pretty great.
- The tunnels of the newest East Side NYC subway.
- Isolation or loneliness that shortens our lifespans?
- The UK Border Agency is being scrapped for parts? Do I rejoice or cower in fear?

- This is adorable. Though, you notice there are basically no dating books geared at men. Because they don't care. Hilarity. I wonder how terrible the book that goes with this is...

Music Monday - Morgan Karr - Yellow Skies

You guys, I'm back in Los Angeles and the sun is shining! Speaking of bright Yellow Skies, my little Morgana has a new EP out called just that. I think it's Morgan's best work to date and I'm so happy he's really coming into his own here in LA. I was sad to miss his EP launch because I was back in old stomping ground all week. 

One little detail about Morgan that I always file away as a little reminder of how much I love him is this: during VOTE! rehearsals the summer we were at Minetta (aka, the summer I almost died) there was one night where Morgan and I shared a slightly inebriated cab ride. He had been keeping a journal as Mark, the character he played (and my favorite character) in VOTE! and he just read to me from it. It was so trippy and wonderful. 

He keeps those little lovable details coming non-stop. Like this little gem-- he says this record is for anyone who ever held fear too tightly. 

You can buy Yellow Skies here. You can get a free download here. Plus! Cool remixy thing. And he's got an LA/Venice show coming up soon too. Check it. I just love you, Morgan Karr!

NYC Vacation

While this trip is actually a business trip and not a vacation, I've decided that I'm on vacation from the blog while I'm here. See you next Monday!

Lena Dunham Auditions For Zero Dark Thirty

After several days spent chained to my editing suite, we've submitted the rough cut of Birthday Cake to Frameline Film Festival. Yay! I'm pretty drained, and prepping for my NYC trip, so here's something funny. Chelsea Davison's impression of Lena Dunham is too good. I love it. 

NYC, see you this weekend!

Cause & Effect - Midway Film

Through my very dear friend Torcuil, I gained a new appreciation for birds while I was living in Scotland. Living in New York, birds are more of a nuisance than anything else. But now that I know what to look for, I can't help notice the thrushes flying over my apartment terrace in Madrid or the murmurations of starlings all the time... even in Los Angeles traffic. 

Which is why this video trailer for the film Midway made me feel so profoundly sad. On trash days in New York, I used to have to shield my eyes from the mountains of bags. If I allowed it in; allowed myself to process it, I'd be depressed the rest of the day. But you gotta let it in. Because it all ends up somewhere. Please watch this.

SMASH Season 2 Premiere - The Fall Out

Hi. I'm back again with the SMASH recapping. No, not the funny ones. That's Rachel Shukert. I'm the painfully earnest one. But I just can't help myself. You can read my thoughts on Part One of the premiere here. Or any of my Season One Recaps from BroadwaySpotted here. Now, onward to part two: The Fallout. 

And indeed, that's what this was. Particularly when held up against that first hour. 

The best thing about the second part of SMASH's season 2 finale was all the Broadway people. In addition to Jeremy Jordan, Andy Mientus & Krysta Rodriguez, this episode gave us Annaleigh Ashford, Mara Davi and the lovely Brynn O'Malley. Not to mention...The Fierstein. 

Tied for the best thing in The Fallout is Megan Hilty's performance of "They Just Keep Movin' The Line." I say her performance and not the song because, the song is just ok for me. And leads me back to a statement I feel I make again and again which is that Bombshell has two of every song. Each song should serve an individual purpose in the show and Bombshell doubles up on all of them. "National Pastime" does the same thing as that Wolf Howl song, and for that matter, also "Let's Be Bad." There are 22 songs in Bombshell-- a musical with basically no book! That's at least a seven too many, as far as I'm concerned. "They Just Keep Moving the Line" feels like one more Marilyn desperation to make it song-- and way more appropriate for Ivy to sing than Marilyn. That being said, I'm glad Ivy sang it. Which is to say, I'm glad Megan Hilty sang it. Because Megan Hilty = butter.

There are also two things tied for the worst thing about The Fallout. (There is also a long list of honorable mentions including the "Would I Lie To You" hallucination number and any moment in which Karen tries to seduce anyone, which we were tortured with again this ep.) 

The first worst is that as bitchy as theatre gets, the president of the American Theatre Wing would never kick Tom, Julia and Eileen out of a dinner. As in, order them to leave. Though, if you're going to portray the woman as a judgmental battle-ax  might as well go straight to Margo Martindale who has never played anything but a snakey, sad, judgmental battle-ax in her entire career. Kind of a weak move. And I was personally offended on behalf of the theatre community. I don't think we'd ever do that. (Anyone with stories to the contrary, please feel free to correct so I can lose that final shred of hope I had for humanity.) Worst thing number two isn't just a problem with The Fallout though. It's a long running problem. Even more than my Julia problem. I mean, at least I HATE her. At least she elicits a response with her unprofessionalism and constant wallowing victimhood. 

But Karen is the dullest thing ever served on white rice. I feel like a broke record with this. Everything with her is a case of show don't tell. They keep on and keep on telling us there's something special about her. Well, I've watched every ep and I sure don't see it. Like when they tell us a song is very good. Nope, you gotta just play the song and let us decide. Everything she sings, every line she says, Kat McPhee just drops it on the floor. She is wasting Jeremy Jordan's sizzle. I hope he continues to make fun of her for the rest of the season. She is walking particle board. Or, to just go ahead and quote Rachel Shukert,  she is "the human equivalent of one of those grocery store peaches that looks like a Cezanne but tastes like the inside of a mattress..."

But on that note, the worst worst thing about The Fallout was its ratings. Only 1.1 million viewers. Let's hope there's no yanking the show. Because I can't wait to see how Jimmy Collins thinks anything will ever happen to his music without the help of actors, directors, producers or audience members. And because what replacement masochistic method could I ever hope to find of this caliber and high production values?

Lonely But Fabulous Friday Links

What a week. Lots of changes over here. Strangely, I feel better in the wake of recent upheavals on their multiple fronts. I've been doing a lot of taking stock. And I think I've learned some good things moving forward in what I want my days to look like; the rest of my life to look like. I do this a lot, inching towards it bit by bit. Chiseling it down into something that hopefully looks like something. 

Most things have been pushing me towards going it on my own for several years now. Not on my own on my own, but a kind of autonomy or partnership with separate but equal spheres is where I'm sticking to. That's definitely when I'm happiest. I'm looking forward to all the work coming up for Steven and me. I'm looking forward to a slightly reconfigured New York trip. I'm looking forward to long morning hikes at Griffith Park and to having free mental space to finish these scripts. 

There is a luxury to being alone. And I'm going to wallow in it for a bit. 

Here are your links! Have a great weekend!

- My ol' pal Duncan Sheik's "Barely Breathing" featured in the Girls torture chamber. His reaction.
- Best article on SMASH I've ever read. It's juicy. 
- Listen to Frightened Rabbit for free before their album Pedestrian Verse comes out next week. 
- Last lines of all the 30 Rock characters. RIP 30 Rock. 
- I watched The Americans. I don't think it's going to be better than Homeland. 
- Cronin's Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner in the NYTimes
- Speaking of Cronin, here's what he loves about Houston. 

Smash Season Two - Episode One, Part One

As cynical as I have sometimes been in my recapping of the show, both here and in the more official capacity over at BroadwaySpotted.com, I want to reemphasize that I've never actually been one of the SMASH cynics. My deep hope persists that SMASH can still be a great show and occasionally shows flashes of it. 

When I heard about the shake up at the helm and on the decks, I was pleased. Mostly that we'd be losing that yucky assistant, who, strangely, my mind has already repressed. I cannot remember his name. Hold on, I'm going to go look it up... Ellis! 

Anyhow. I was less pleased to eventually lose Brian D'arcy James and Raza Jaffrey, but, alas. What we were gaining in return was worth the price. Jennifer Hudson (sorta), Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez and most especially Jeremy Jordan as series regulars with Sean Hayes and LIZA MINELLI as special guest stars?? Okay, then. Sign me up and let's get to watching. 

I still find that there's something quite vacant about Katharine McPhee as a performer. She never feels present in any scene or any song. And I still don't get Marilyn even when she's playing her. Also, I feel like she's a little too bitchy anymore to Ivy. I dunno... maybe because to me, it was months and months and a whole country ago-- 5,440 miles ago-- I think, dude, let it go. No need to get anyone fired. Plus! You breaking up with your Dev (was that his name? Another one I've almost completely erased from my memory) meant that now you live with Krysta Rodriguez and I'd way rather watch her.

Most of the plot elements you guys can guess because, well, they pretty much give them all away in the promo. And I don't have much to say about them. I'm good with it. I don't mind some soapy elements. I lived on the Broadway campus long enough to know that the soap factor is actually one of the more accurate (and often satisfying!) elements of SMASH. 

I'll say this though. I really do think they're going in the right direction. Yep. Bombshell should be thwarted. Because that shit's real. And because even without seeing the entirety of Bombshell, I can tell you right now I know for a FACT Julia's book for the thing was bad. Most shows get thwarted in some way, even when the writers have clout. 

And thank god for whoever's idea it was (I'm guessing new showrunner Gossip Girl's Josh Safran) to bring in plot lines (and REAL MUSIC!) from young and emerging writers! YAY! It feels like being single for a really long time and then finally getting asked out on a date. And I'm not even writing for the show! But that's how satisfying it feels. 

I'm also going to make a note that this episode features two of the most honest moments ever featured on the show to date. One of them, however, was immediately followed with eye-rolling pretense. 

When Jennifer Hudson tells Kat McPhee to 'protect the work,' I nodded my head for like a full 30 seconds. But then, she said, "This will be you in six months," and walked out of her dressing room to a stage door that felt like a red carpet premiere. And just like that, the moment was shattered on the dirty theater district pavement. 

The other moment--- oh, the other moment-- there was just nothing Hollywood could do to ruin it. Not Kat McPhee holding up her iphone for Derek to hear it, nor the plot contrivance of her forgetting the phone on the bar forcing her to come back and hear it. Nothing could ruin Jeremy Jordan singing Joe Iconis's 'Broadway Here I Come.' 

I'd personally like to thank my friends Joe and Jeremy for this moment of the show. I re-watched the last four minutes of the episode about seven or eight times last night and once again this morning. It's so much better in the full version than what they show in the promo. I'm not a fan of the way they edited the song for that promo. It doesn't show off the best parts of the song IMO. But you'll watch the full thing and you'll see. You can also hear the lovely Molly Hager sing it here. And of course, Krysta, sing it here. 

Off to a good start, SMASH. Please, please, I beg of you, keep it up. Josh Safran promised me and you "more music, less scarves." I'm going to choose to trust him to keep that promise. And I'll keep watching. But who am I kidding. Like all the people who love Broadway, I'm a glutton for punishment. I'd watch it no matter what. 

You can watch part one of the Season 2 premiere on Hulu here. 
The full two hour premiere airs on NBC February 5

Fly Aways- 

- What's going on with Jennifer Hudson's teeth during her performance? It's like she lost the weight and became a lollypop head and her teeth just seem HUGE now. 

- I was surprised to find Theresa Rebeck listed as an executive producer. My understanding is that she was relinquishing all affiliation with the show from now on, save Created By. Guess not. 

- I feel a little dirty for saying it, but can we petition for more Riedel in this season. I'd take him in every episode really. There's something more palatable about him as semi-fictional soap villain on TV. AMIRIGHT??? 

Rachel Potter - Live The Dream

What a few years Rachel Potter has had! I've said before-- one of the only things that's really genuinely encouraging after so many years in the biz is having being able to see the arc of someone's success in hindsight. I remember sunny summer afternoons in Astoria park with Rachel talking about the struggle. 

At the time, she singing in a wedding band and feeling sort of dissatisfied with auditioning. She'd always been high on my list for Muffin in VOTE! at some point. Often, I wish I had more going on only so I could hire more of my friends. We talked about all the discouraging things that had ever been said to us and how we tried to shake them off. 

Shortly after I left for Scotland, all the good stuff started happening for Rachel. She got Wednesday in The Addams Family and then The Mistress in Evita. She's always done her own original music, and now that is taking off like whoa. Case in point, her new video airing on CMT, "Live The Dream." 

There's a lot of reasons to love this video. Most of mine include the obscene amounts of friends yukking it up in the background. Yours might also include Ricky Martin. (!) Check it out. Live the Dream, people. 

New Year, New Job, New Website

Many of you noticed that I got a new job in December, (Thanks for the well wishes on that, too, people. Much appreciated.) as the Director of Communications for voice over casting and production company, Resnick Interactive Group. I've been getting the lay of the land for the past month, but also working on our new website! 

I get to write a lot, so that's the main thing. Content for the site & our blog, press stuff, script stuff, etc.  But I also get to get in there on where the business is going to go next and so I'm excited that direction is onwards and upwards with more children's entertainment. Which is perfect, since that's right up my street! We already work on tons of animation including the hit show Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse (Seen by over 100,000,000 viewers and starring the one and only Haviland Stillwell as Barbie's nemesis, Raquelle. Also, doesn't it just seem fitting with the universe that I should write for a Barbie show? I mean, amiright???) and I can't wait to see what 2013 brings from our efforts. 

They're even shipping my NYC keister back to my favorite city for most of the month of February (not actually the month I'd choose to spend in NYC, but that's neither here nor there) and throughout the year--- so people of the Big Apple, prepare ye for my imminent return! 

And check out our new website! Happy Monday!

Oops, I Ryan(n)'ed again

PS- I know you guys just got Downton Season 3 last night, so I'll remind you of my previous writings, here. 

BaubleBar is Hiring!

Perhaps it is a contradiction in terms to post one day about the high price of materialism and the next about jobs in consumerism...however! Everybody's gotta get paid and most everyone wants to look pretty. And at the fundamental level, I'm super proud of one of my oldest and bestest pals from childhood, Daniella. Her company, Baublebar, is like the gold standard in affordable jewelry. And you can flip a page of US Weekly or whathaveyou in the line for the grocery store (actually, they don't have that at Trader Joe's and that's the only place I shop, but you get the idea) without spotting pictures of every starlet on that planet wearing some gorgeous morsel from Daniella and Amy's venture. 

Daniella and I became friends in junior high because we were neighbors, sort of. We'd walk home from school a lot together until we both finally got cars. I rolled in the same group of girls for pretty much my entire childhood. A gift I didn't realize was so valuable at the time. Daniella and I had a lot of the same irritations with adolescence and high school-- wanting to get somewhere that valued people for their brains, etc etc. She went to Penn and the Harvard. I went to Rice and the St Andrews, but we were neighbors again for a long time in the East Village too, when she had a sweet deal on a place on 4th and A....and I did not have a sweet deal on either 4th and B or 4th and Second. But, ah, that delightful neighborhood!

Anyhow, BaubleBar is hiring! Most notably for anyone reading this blog, the Social Media Coordinator. New Yorkers, get on this one! I know I'd probably be all over it if I were there. I like their style, and by that, I mean their attitude. I think it's a really good sign when a company asks you what your 'at-bat' song would be. 

They also just opened their first brick & mortar store on Fifth Ave this fall!

Good Idea Files: EveryDayActors.com

Obviously resources for actors and producers (especially the ones who are trying to make their way in the world) are near and dear to my heart. That's why I'm super excited to be working with EveryDayActors.com. 

Essentially, it pairs creators of video content (Ad agencies, PR firms, filmmakers, producers, web designers, or brands themselves) with willing "everyday actors".   

It's a great free tool for the agency that allows them to search the database and find exactly who they need (based on union affiliation, location, gender, age, ethnicity, special features and style like "geek chic") and negotiate the gig direct.  The site doesn't take any kind of back-end % or charge a fee, making it really attractive to the agency-side to use this service often.  

For the ACTOR, this is a low-effort way to get fun gigs and make extra cash $$$ on the side, and potentially build-up a reel or make industry contacts.  Actors just have to create a profile, upload some photos or video, and wait to be matched up and contacted! 

For example... Say there's a local L.A. business looking to a shoot a "How it works" video for their new shopping website, and they dont have big budget, but they do have $500 cash for the first sassy young fashionable blonde they can find to play the part. So they enter their search criteria into the site and you come up in the results.  You're on the site because you're new to the city, freelancing, and into making a few extra bucks in your pocket where you can.  Successful match is made.  We're not necessarily talking about actors with hollywood aspirations, but just cool camera-friendly people who are down to take random gigs. 

There is usually a $20 annual subscription fee on the actor side ($1.66/month-- still pretty low cost, when you think about it), designed to ensure the seriousness/willingness and quality of the actors who participate. 

But for readers of Fergie & Fife-- YOU! ---I have a FREE sign-up link for actors! 

Isn't that a great idea? And they are set up to run in ALL my favorite actor cities and past/present homes: NYC, LA, LONDON! Actor friends-- even ones who are way past this level-- I'm super curious to hear your thoughts. Please let me know if you join too! This is a site I plan on following the trajectory of. 

ShootMePeter Headshot Special

You've heard me talk about my friend Pete before. Not only is he my super talented musician friend, my friend I made in the subway, and my friend whose wedding to my other awesome friend Suz in May in LA is going to be gorrrrrrgeous, he's also an utter fabulous photographer of people, places and events. 

He did a session with Steven and me back in September where he got just a few of me alone. I posted one, and immediately felt the love. Thanks. Your facebook comments on this photo have made me smile, so thanks! And thanks to Pete! He's a delight to work with and very creative on the shoot. 

The amazing news is that Pete is running a headshot special! All you actor/entertainment people in New York AND Los Angeles. He's in both. Here's your chance.  Here are the deets:

2-hour unlimited shot session

4-fully edited full resolution photos

all pics on DVD

$175 (normally $350)

Just tell him I sent you!

Peter Roessler Photography - shootMEpeter

661.904.2552

shootmepeter@gmail.com

RIP, Dave Brubeck

What could I ever say about Dave Brubeck that "To Hope!" doesn't tell you? Or "Take Five?" Nothing I could say could duplicate, convey, or explain those feelings (and many many more) so let's just listen in honor the great man, Mr. Dave Brubeck. 

If I still lived in New York, I'd put on "Take Five" and wander through Rockfeller Center. Something about Dave always made me think of New York during the holidays. 

Play It, Sam - Casablanca Can Be Yours For Only 1.2 Million

One of the pianos referred to in one of the most famously fabricated movie quotes of all time is up for sale. Sotheby's in NYC will put up for auction, Sam's piano from Casablanca next Friday, Dec 14. The Japanese collector who holds the piano currently purchased it in 1998 for $154,000 is now expected to get $1.2 million at auction for one of two pianos that Sam (Dooley Wilson) played in the film. (The other is down the street at Warner Bros here in LA.)

Do you find it interesting that two of the most famously misquoted movie lines ("Play it again, Sam" and "you know how to whistle don't you?") were uttered (or NOT uttered) by real life couple Bogie & Bacall? 

For more on Sam's piano check out here and here.