Has there been any attempt to persuade Mrs. Boenish (Jean)
To reissue Playground in the Sky (PitS) on DVD; perhaps we
could use these clips on LIFT for a side discussion on PitS and open the
importance of how this film is a true testament to Carl and early HG-
Jean lives in California yet. She holds the rights to PitS but
the only distribution I have ever been able to find is a small group in
the Internet in Germany (?
[ ] ) doing some skydive videos for sale only on PAL format.
Now may be a last call to allow LIFT to have some impact on bringing
this wonderful documentary to the public it ties in with the Otto 40th
celebration push as Carl was at Newport!
Also the 16 mm format may have to be enhanced or cleaned by Hollywood
experts there may be a network connection through Eddie Paul as
Eddie is in Hollywood-
These are thoughts
But I have always been puzzled, because PitS was as essentially
important to HG in 77 when Carl made it, as Big Blue Sky (BBS) is:
together they give wings to HG-
Perhaps Bill Liscomb could entertain the measure of knowledge needed to
persuade his distributor for BBS, to adopt PitS as a follow up prequel
to BBS-?
Last time I called Jean was in about--I had not the knowledge that Carl
had recently been killed in a jump, so it shocked me and upset Jean to
speak to me about it then--1988. I worked at a Video (VHS) rental store
here. She mailed me a copy of PitS on VHS, from the Boenish
Archives -and I think she said it was the last one? That copy was
lost, as I rented it at the store and it was scuttled.
Time is a healer; perhaps now Jean has had time to
adjust and maybe she will lead in sharing Carls precious art with the
world.
Standing By
LIFT contributing reporter/journalist
Neil Larson USHGA #24