Linda Darnell, Romantic Addiction, Kyle Chandler

Some individuals suffering romantic rejection were researched recently. According to Journal of Neurophysiology (2010), recovery from a breakup may be akin to recovering from drug addiction: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers recorded the brain activity of adults who had previously been rejected. Upon viewing photographs of their former partners, several key areas of participants' brains were activated: the ventral tegmental area (involved in feelings of romantic love) which controls motivation and reward; the nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal/prefrontal cortex, which are associated with craving and addiction (specifically the dopaminergic reward system); the insular cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex associated with physical pain and distress. "Romantic love, under both happy and unhappy circumstances, may be a "natural addiction" said [neuroscientist Lucy] Brown. "Our findings suggest that the pain of romantic rejection may be a necessary part of life that nature built into our anatomy and physiology." Source: jn.physiology.org

Linda Darnell began to struggle with her drinking. Her marriage to Pev Marley had fallen apart. Tumultuous, ill-advised affairs with domineering womanizers like Mankiewicz and Howard Hughes left her crestfallen and lonely. Bouts of deep depression followed. She was one of the world’s most famous beauties, but her world had begun to shrink. -"Noir’s Hard Luck Ladies: Linda Darnell" by Jake Hinkson

The screenplay credit for "It Happened Tomorrow" (1944) lists both Rene Clair and Dudley Nichols and a notation that it was "based on originals by Lord Dunsany, Hugh Wedlock and Howard Snyder, and ideas of Lewis R. Foster, with additional dialogue by Helene Fraenkel." According to Clair, the acknowledgement of various contributions was due to the fact that "In Hollywood, they are very cautious about story ideas because of the legal entanglements that can ensue if you get caught copying -- or even appearing to have copied. What happened here illustrates that point. In the early forties, Frank Capra had bought a screenplay... from two writers. Before he went any further on the project, he had the legal department research the property. The two scripts had the same device: the possibility of reading tomorrow's newspaper today. Since Capra knew very well that the Dunsany estate could have made trouble for him, he bought the rights from them... Eventually Capra sold the rights to Arnold Pressburger, who asked me to take over the project." (from The Films of Rene Clair by R.C. Dale, Scarecrow Press) Source: www.tcm.com

There is a 1944 film named "It Happened Tomorrow" with a synopsis of "Newspaper reporter given otherworldly access to news in advance finds himself in trouble in delightful comic fantasy" and which stars Dick Powell and Linda Darnell. The premise is very similar to that of "Early Edition", and perhaps the creators had it in their subconscious mind. Ironically, in Poland the show [Early Edition] was titled "It Happened Tomorrow."

Kyle Chandler as Gary Hobson in "Early Edition" (1996-2000): "Sometimes that's all a hero is - the guy who's there."

This writer first met [Kyle] Chandler almost 20 years ago while we were both living and working in Los Angeles. He was starring in the ABC series "Homefront," playing an athlete with a heart of gold in post-World War II America.

He later starred in the Broadway play 'Picnic' alongside Ashley Judd, about which he still rolls his eyes whenever it’s mentioned in conversation, as it was panned by critics at the time. Even then Chandler stood apart from the crowd in Hollywood from day one and still does. “Kyle had a great onscreen presence and was equally charming offscreen. Of all the folks in Hollywood that I brushed shoulders with, Kyle had to be one of the nicest and most humble actors that I ever had the pleasure of working with,” recalls Katy Brewer Copley.

“The character is a lot more stable and fearless than myself,” Chandler confides. “That’s one of the reasons I love acting, because I get to be who I’m not. There’s a lot of my life in that role, even though this is the first time I’ve ever played a married character and father in detail. I enjoy playing Eric because he’s such a strong character and he’s got his idea of right and wrong—his moral compass. I enjoy his humanity.” Beyond his good intentions, charitable ways, and family man persona, Chandler’s acceptance of flaws and the gritty part of life makes him real, good people and a real good actor. Source: societychronicles.com

-My fantasy is: I get to do over all the things in my life that I regret.

-Favorite performers: Evangelists and politicians.

-The three words that best describe me: I asked my wife to help me with this, and she said she can't come up with anything you can print. Source: articles.chicagotribune.com

"Homefront" is one of those shows that, quite honestly, was too good for American television, and subsequently suffered a premature, tragic death. Created by Mentor native Bernard Lechowick and his wife, Lynne Marie Latham, Homefront told the story of a collection of families in the fictional town of River Run, Ohio (based loosely on Mentor). While there was just enough Norman Rockwell ambiance and Glenn Miller music in the background to set the mood, its storylines quickly got gritty.

The Ballad of Jeff Metcalf: Jeff Metcalf had been established as a good-hearted lover of sports who dreamily talked about one day playing professional baseball, but his character wasn’t designed to lead the series. The series ends with Jeff and Ginger getting married in an improvised ceremony as the train for Kansas (or maybe Texas) pulls out of the station, both destined for bigger and brighter things in the future. By the time Homefront’s second season began in the fall of 1992, Jeff Metcalf was the heart of the show. Source: theclevelandfan.com

According to Lynn Marie Latham (creator and Executive Producer on "Homefront"): “When Kyle Chandler and Tammy Lauren started working together, we asked them to come into the office and look at Preston Sturges’s films. We asked Kyle to look at Cary Grant and asked Tammy to look at Barbara Stanwyck, and how the timing was in the ’40s. They came back with this incredible comedic timing. I think they’re brilliant actors.” According to Homefront's camera intern Dena Thompson, “Kyle studied Jimmy Stewart’s acting closely and modeled some of his mannerisms after him. Jimmy was Kyle’s favorite actor, and he often imitated him on the set.”

Dena Thompson: “Whereas Jeff was so honorable, Kyle could look at you with such mischief and say things to you that would knock a lot of women off their feet. Tammy had to be pretty strong to resist laughing, or crumbling. I remember one afternoon shooting for [episode #23] ‘Spanish Moss,’ where Kyle and Tammy were sitting on the bed discussing patterns for china or silverware, or something. Kyle was leaning in, giving her this look, while he teasingly said over his shoulder to a crew member, ‘She is a dish, isn’t she?’ He was a terrible flirt!”






When the writers of "Homefront" first brought together Jeff Metcalf (who had fallen in love with his brother's fiancee), and Ginger Szabo (who had been jilted by her GI beau), the pairing was only meant to last a few episodes. But the incredible chemistry between the two actors, Kyle Chandler and Tammy Lauren, was unmistakable from the beginning. Sparks flew every time they shared the screen. They scrapped plans to break up the couple and went full steam ahead with the romance. Though they didn't start off as main characters in the show, Jeff and Ginger nonetheless stole the hearts of nearly every fan, and eventually the story of their tumultuous, tempestuous relationship became the focal point. Fans couldn't get enough of their sexy, funny, charming banter, and even years after the show's cancellation, fans are still in love with this couple. Source: lemongrrl.tripod.com

-"I have met Kyle several times. I was always struck by his soft-spoken graciousness, a Georgia boy still, with those pointed shitkicker boots sticking out several miles. When Pete Berg, who is my cousin and who created the series Friday Night Lights, based upon my book, offered him the role of head coach Eric Taylor, Kyle did not register a heartbeat of excitement. He thought he was too young for it and worried the show would become a small-town Texas version of Beverly Hills, 90210.

I had my own worries: Coaches have been portrayed ad nauseam; originality seemed impossible. But confirming Pete's instinct, Kyle's combination of authentic toughness and authentic compassion hauled you in. His unique performance showed that sensitivity is a form of strength." -Buzz Bissinger (author of Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream)

-You've done some directing of your own, on "Friday Night Lights" [S5, Episode 'Texas Whatever']. Any urge to direct your own film?

-Kyle Chandler: "I don't want to say I'm never going to direct again, but directing's hard work. I worked with [director and acting coach] Milton Katselas and he studied under Elia Kazan. Kazan said there's only one good thing a director needs and I was like, "Wow, what is that?" and the answer is "Everything." I just don't know everything." Source: news.moviefone.com

Best Beach: "Crescent Beach on Siesta Key, Florida. The sand is like powdered sugar because it's made almost entirely of quartz. It's right on the Gulf of Mexico, and it has a great vibe."

"Right before my father passed away, he gave me a book. I wasn't much of a reader, so I put it away and forgot about it. But 20 years later, we found the book up in my toy chest when my mom was moving out of the house. It was The Three Musketeers, and I'll be damned, I wished I'd read it when I was a kid. It has everything you want to read about as a young man: honor and duty, battle, friendship and mystery, and of course beautiful women in distress." Source: www.menshealth.com