Hi Alex,

How funny that you are in a Media Production class, but you dont like movies much. I shouldn’t talk though – I am an actress and I have never had television, except for a couple months when my husband wanted to watch the Tour de France.

I made American Flyers combined in 1984, several years before you were born, so perhaps it is normal you would not know much of the cast. Kevin Costner, the older brother, you might have recognized. David Marshall Grant, the younger brother, has done alot of American theater and tv, and now directs. Rae Dawn Chong, Kevin Costner’s girlfriend, is Tommy Chong’s daughter (you might not even know him, since he is of a different generation too) and has worked alot. Jennifer Grey, who played the girl who is set up with David, later starred in Dirty Dancing. Robert Townsend, the African American cyclist, has become a prolific producer. The director, John Badham, had directed many very successful films, including Saturday Night Fever.

I loved making the film, and met 3 of my closest friends on the set: Jim Dunlap who is a production accountant on huge films; Kate Sullivan, who was a caterer on American Flyers and who now the best set decorator around; and Daniel Sladek, who organized extras but now is a manager and producer. He managed me for many years. We were all 20 years old back then and are still friends 28 years later!

Nice of you to say that you liked how I looked back then. I certainly dont look the same now – my hair is one color and I have lost the baby fat, especially in my face! American Flyers is a lovely film. It didnt get the attention it deserved because Warner Brothers put all of their attention on Tina Turner and Mel Gibson’s Thunderdome, which opened around the same time. Back then, there were no video stores or streaming online, so the only venue for a movie was in the cinema until a year later when it might be seen on one of the 5 tv networks.

There are many great movies to be seen – you might still become a movie buff yet!

Alexandra

Hi Mary,

I am so glad you read the article. I have written on overpopulation before, and taught a class to thousands of LA students in the early 1990s on the issue. I wrote this most recent piece because the world human population reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011, and I believe overpopulation is THE most important issue we face today. We will not be able to solve so many other problems – pollution, hunger, lack of water, species diversity, wars over land and resources, proper education for everyone, traffic, infrastructure, manageable living conditions – unless we stabilize and LOWER the population. I believe our population should be at 2 billion, which is the number of people on the planet only 80 years ago! There are TWICE as many people living on this earth than there were when I was born 48 years ago – that is crazy.

For more information on overpopulation, read Paul Erlich’s books and articles, go to www.populationmedia.org or read what I have on my website.

Great to hear from you!

Alexandra

Hi Mike,

Well I am so glad we can agree to disagree and I thank you for being open enough to see what you can like about me instead of just focusing on where we differ. I think we are all more alike than different, dont you?

Christine seems to be holding up well over the years – that movie has become a cult classic and I am very proud to be associated with it. Today, coincidentally, I have been corresponding with my co-stars from that film – Keith Gordon, John Stockwell and William Ostrander – as there are many requests for us to go to autograph signings at horror conventions and we are trying to figure out if we can all go to one together. There are still 2 Christine cars in existence (out of the 21 used during filming) and one of them does the cars shows sometimes. One of the wonderful things about being an actress is that you meet so many cool people, and those guys are included.

Thank you Mike, for writing in and letting me know that even if we dont agree politically, you still like my movies!

Best,
Alexandra