Notes from Venice - Day 2/3

Boyd from European Films here, reporting on the ongoing Venice Film Festival

Mood: sleepy
Weather: hot, with occasional outbursts of rain and even hail
Films seen: Sleuth, 24 Mesures (24 Measures), Michael Clayton, Nessuna qualità agli eroi, Small Gods, In the Valley of Elah
Gripe of the day: wet carpetPeople currently on the same square mile of earth as I am: Takeshi Kitano, Ang Lee, Tony Leung, Jude Law (pictured right by Fabrizio Maltese), Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, George Clooney, Brian De Palma, Tilda Swinton, Irène Jacob, Bruno Todeschini, Elio Germano, Mathieu Amalric, Arnaud Desplechin

The weather is getting worse her in Venice after a sultry start, and the same could be said of the films, though of course it would be hard to expect all 60 films playing in the various sections of the festival to be on the same level as opening film Atonement.

It was confirmed today that several stars will not be attending the festival (they must have seen the weather reports!), including French diva Isabelle Huppert (whose film Medée Miracle will close the Horizons section) and the otherwise ubiquitous ScarJo, who opened the festival last year with De Palma's The Black Dahlia. The latter should have been in town to promote The Nanny Diaries, but perhaps the general tendencies of the US reviews (ouch!) made her decide that facing a battalion of ready-to-shoot foreign journalists wasn't exactly her idea of a late August getaway.

George Clooney, however, never turns down a Venice invitation, and he is in town to present the legal thriller Michael Clayton. Normally good-humored, the man crowned "mag-nifico" by the Italian press (because of an advertisement in which he pronounces the word thus) had a difficult moment during the press conference when asked why he was doing all these ads? Obviously, "for the money" is not an answer that will score you any Brownie points with the general public. Clooney was visibly at a loss for an answer, finally trying the sarcastic "Me? In commercials?"

Before delving in to some reviews, let me say this: I would have liked to share with you my thoughts on several other films, but I will have to restrict myself as the festival has imposed an embargo on writing about films until after the public screenings, which sometime can take place over 24 hours later than the press screenings. So check back next time for my ideas on In the Valley of Elah and Michael Clayton.

What I can talk about is Sleuth, Kenneth Branagh's update of a 1970 play and a 1972 movie that also starred Michael Caine. It is a "delicious little devil of a movie in its own right" as I note in my full Sleuth review on european-films.net, though it still remains a small film to my eyes, especially because it retains its stagey feel throughout the film: it is essentially two men talking for 90 minutes.

It came as something of a shock to see that that is the film that leads the Competition score board for the moment, as published in an Italian-language daily distributed during the festival. It has the highest ratings of both the Italian critics and the members of the Italian audience that are part of an audience jury, followed by Lust, Caution and then Atonement. Comparing this to the reviews in the English-language press, it seems to be rather the contrary, with Atonement being on top. What gives...

In the various sidebars of the festival, one can find a lot of offbeat choices, including the first feature as a director from French actor Jalil Lespert (Human Resources). The film is called 24 mesures and presents several connected stories that play out on Christmas eve. Before you say "no more interconnected stories, please," you must know that the actors playing the leads in the four story strands are Lubna Azabal (the girl from Paradise Now) who steals the show, Benoît Magimel (yum!) and Bérangère Allaux and Sami Bouajila (double yum!). So there. Read my full review of 24 mesures.

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Now Playing (08/31)

Labor Day Weekend and you know what that means --taking it easy instead of laboring. Perhaps you should curl up with a DVD? Enjoy your holiday if you have one. If not please still enjoy

s t u f f 9 t h a t 's 9 o p e n i n g
Exiled -From acclaimed director Johnny To
Freshman Orientation -"how far would you swing to get the girl you love?" a tagline that fills me with loathing
The Nines -I like the poster. I also like John August's blog
Self Medicated -drug drama starring its writer/director
Balls of Fury -er, no
Death Sentence -oh Kevin, really?
Halloween -bah humbug (wrong holiday but whatev)

I N _T H E A T E R S _ (links to reviews)
Recommended: Hairspray, Once, Sunshine, The Bourne Ultimatum and Ratatouille No But Yes But... Stardust and Becoming Jane No: Death at a Funeral, La Vie En Rose, and Transformers

Links: Jodie Hot, Viggo Español: Released... Not

Links, List-like
Nick Davis personalizes the Fall Film roster
The Evening Class Michael Hawley reminds us how much great stuff we're all missing in this f***ed up world of 4000 screens for disposable blockbusters and 5 for international films. I haven't heard of some of these but I want to see at least half of them. And Re: Alatriste (pictured left) who doesn't want to see Viggo speak Spainsh? I mean...hello. Release that on 4000 screens
Zoom In Three horror remakes I like

Links, Reg'lar
I Watch Stuff feels funny about that Grace is Gone trailer
Slant on the controversial Cruising, now in rerelease
popbytes Jodie Foster in W = Hot
JJ is at Telluride and about to spill on I'm Not There
The BIZARRO Blog-a-Thon is over. It was absolutely unfulfilling. There wasn't even one entry worth reading. I most certainly did not enjoy some of them so much that I read them twice.

DVD: Perplexing Endings and Actresses

oops. forgot to post this on Tuesday

This Week's New Releases
Red Road -Nick speaks highly of this debut film from Andrea Arnold which opened for a split second earlier this year. It won a prize @ Cannes last summer and has been compared to work from Haneke and Von Trier. Already on my queue
Year of the Dog I'm really fond of Molly Shannon's work in this film as a very sad very smiley dog lover. Can you put your finger on how she's revealing so much with so few facial expressions? Bonus Points: eminently discussable ending.
Blades of Glory Will Ferrell and Napoleon Dynamite as figure skaters

Documentaries
Air Guitar Nation on well, what it says should you be looking for a light funny documentary. And Blood and Tears details the Arab/Israeli conflict if you're getting serious.

Special Editions
Crocodile Dundee Trilogy -Can you believe I was an 80s teen and never saw this? Didn't even remember there were three
Dr T & the Women -a minor Robert Altman picture about a gynecologist (Richard Gere) and the many women who love him. Strangely compelling / surprising reason to watch it: Tara Reid (!) is actually not half bad in it. Otherwise its unfortunately marred by a bizarre ending plus the presence of Helen Hunt in the largest female role. Robert Altman and Woody Allen are two of the best directors of actors but neither has been able to make this one interesting.

Notes from Venice - Day 1

Boyd from European Films reports on the ongoing Venice Film Festival

Mood: expectant
Weather: sultry
Films seen: Gruz 200, Se jie (Lust Caution)
Gripe of the day: jellyfish
People currently on the same square mile of earth as I am: Keira Knightley (right, portrayed by Fabrizio Maltese), James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave, Rupert Everett, Zhang Yimou, Catherine Breillat, Gregg Araki, Paul Verhoeven

The fireworks that marked the end of the Venice Film Festival opening gala and the beginning of the Atonement party on the exclusive Excelsior beach (yes, the beach where Gustav ogled Tadzio) have only just finished to pierce the eardrums of the poor inhabitants of the Venetian Lido, so it is time to check in with a first report on the 2007 edition of the oldest festival in the world.

A calm day today as the festival tries to put everything that is needed for a smooth festival run properly into place: wireless connections that are not yet working, printers that are not yet connected, passes that have gone missing, bikes that get stolen, jellyfish that sting bathers who have temporarily given up on having internet access... well you get the idea.

Opening film Atonement was generally well received, though the Italians I spoke to seemed to think it was too long and too classical in its approach. The international press seemed more taken in by exactly this sort of old-fashioned grandeur, and I tend to agree with them (I saw the film a couple of weeks ago, here's my review of Atonement).

Also on the menu today was the Competition Se jie (Lust, Caution) from Ang Lee, the director who brought us Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain. At a whopping 156 minutes, the film is something of an endurance test on the behind, and the explicit nature of the film's sex scenes will be hotly debated and might turn some people off (the keyword is "some" not "off" -- you perverts). Though completely functional and artistically viable, the lust part of Lust, Caution would be considered too explicit for a mainstream Hollywood film, let alone for a film from China!

As I have mentioned before, the trailer and the poster left me rather cold. As I suspected, they cannot do the complexity of the film justice or show some of the film's best scenes (notably the various demonstrations of positions from the Kama Sutra).

Also because of its running time (that amongst other things allows for a too leisurely and unfocused start), the film is not a full-fledged masterpiece, but one has to admire Lee for taking the no-holds-barred approach for this spy story set in 1940s Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Its two protagonists, veteran Tony Leung and newcomer Wei Tang, are both exceptional, and technical credits are extremely polished, from the period costumes and production design to the cinematography (by Brokeback's Rodrigo Prieto) and Alexandre Desplat's lush score. The characters are unforgettable, but as a whole the film feels just a bit too indulgent on the lust part of the equation. Read my full review of Se jie (Lust, Caution).

Hump Day Hottie: Complete Unknown!

A crazy thing about Hollywood: even unknowns are just
___________________gah....can't.... form sentences. Beauty!


Exhibit A: Babak Tafti
Very soon you'll see him (well, if you don't blink) as a prisoner in In the Valley of Elah and as 'kid in hallway' in that new Terminator spinoff 'Sarah Connor' TV series. Makes you wonder what other treasures the IMDB holds for those clicking around. I was going to include an Exhibit B and Exhibit C for a more fully realized thematic post but they're called "unknowns" for a reason. Where to even begin with the knowing?

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And thus ends Season 3 of Hump Day Hotties. Season 4 will begin after an early Fall hiatus. Hump Day Hotties has been a Polysexual Blog Offering.

Season 3 Group Action Grindhouse Girls, Batman's New Bitches, 'too hot for hotties' Men Justin Theroux, Rodrigo Santoro, Paul Newman, Robert Downey Jr, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Jamie Bell, James Marsden, Silver Surfer, Jason Isaacs , Topher Grace Women Anne Hathaway, Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, Maggie Gyllenhaal , Natalie Portman Program Interruptus Homer Simpson, Cruella de Vil, Maggie Smith

Season 2 Group Action Qi Shu & Chen Chang, Jamie Dornan & Asia ArgentoHot on TV Men Djimon Hounsou, Channing Tatum, Hugh Jackman , Brad Pitt, James McAvoy, Cheyenne Jackson, Daniel Craig Women Scarlett Johansson and Cleavage,Naomie Harris, Uma Thurman Program Interruptus Jenny

Season 1 Group Action Capote Boys, Viggo & Maria , ABBA, Fiennes & Weisz, The Men That Got Away (Vanity Fair), Wet Movie Stars Men Gael Garcia Bernal, Orlando Bloom, Cillian Murphy, Daniel Craig, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Sean Penn, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tim Gunn and Totally Gratuitous Jake Gyllenhaal Women Gong Li, Rachel McAdams, Madonna, "Starbuck" from Battlestar Galactica, Thandie Newton, Emmanuelle Béart, Meryl Streep, "Selene" and the uncategorizable "Lady Tottington"

Re: Owen Wilson

I haven't posted anything about Owen Wilson's recent hospitalization --apparently from a suicide attempt -- because I don't post about the personal lives of celebrities unless it's somehow related to their screen work or unless I just can't help myself (gay celebs and Lindsay Lohan obviously fall into this second category --I'm not perfect)

In this case all I really want to say is "get well soon"

But if you've been thinking about this wonderful actor these past few days as I have, I point you to a beautiful piece by Matt Zoller Seitz called "A sunbeam in the abyss". He states super eloquently what I've expressed in the past (albeit awkwardly) whenever the subject of biopics rears its head: People have complicated emotional lives. Let's not reduce.

In the Valley of The Valley of

Even if you dread another Paul Haggis (Crash, Flags of Our Fathers, Million Dollar Baby) centric night at the Oscars it will have no bearing on the AMPAS reaction to his new film In the Valley of Elah, a film about the father of an Iraq war vet who goes missing. Take all forthcoming buzz you hear (good & bad) with a healthy dollop of cool analytical distance. It's the only way to make it through the 5-ish months of Oscar buildup and release. I've learned this from years of obsessing even though I sometimes still trip on my emotions. Take deep breaths. No matter how much we may love or hate a thing... We're no Professor X. We can't telepathically bend the will of 6,000 members of the Academy to our the correct way of thinking.

Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere has already come out as Elah's first big Oscar pundit cheerleader. I'm hearing considerably less enthusiasm from an industry reader who I know has seen it (he wishes to remain anonymous) and he wasn't at all averse to it going in. He thinks the screenplay is strong but that the movie fails to capitalize on it. Like Wells, he feels confident that Tommy Lee Jones is in the shortlist [my current Actor predictions] --going so far in our conversation as to compare Jones' film carrying work with a few very recent Oscar winners. Elsewhere, no pun intended, he doesn't see the film getting very far feeling that it comes up lacking in impact. Charlize Theron, though solid, has no character arc or 'Oscar scene' and he shares the early bird concern about Sarandon's grieving mother performance: very moving but too little screentime for Oscar traction.

I haven't seen the film but I'm personally feeling good about Susan Sarandon as a shortlister [I'll soon move her up on my Supporting Actress page], screentime be damned. If a perfomer is well liked enough, a glorified cameo can do the trick (Geraldine Page, The Pope of Greenwhich Village anyone?). Backgrounded roles can have big impact on voters if actors nail a memorable scene (Miranda Richardson, Damage anyone? Or try winners like Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love or Beatrice Straight in Network).

Other than the very strange and unfortunate case of her snubbing for Bull Durham (1988, seriously what happened there: big juicy comeback, best performance to date from an acclaimed actor, critically hailed hit film) Sarandon has been very well looked after by Oscar voters since the early days of her career when she got a surprise Lead nomination for Atlantic City (1981) --she had campaigned as supporting. Since that time Sarandon has been nominated for most of her statue friendly work. Grieving mothers are an ancient and effective 'Oscar Bait' staple. It's early but I think she's probably in.

What's your gut telling you about In the Valley of Elah and its Oscar chances and/or quality? Or are you more excited for the other political hot buttons coming out: The Kingdom, Rendition, Lions for Lambs or The Kite Runner.

H.S. I Love You

This post is my contribution to the Bizarro Blog-a-Thon

I've tried to fight it, oh how I've struggled against it ... but you know what they say: 'the truth will out.'

If Hilary Swank will have me, I'm hers.

Perhaps you've read my many posts about 'Beelzebub' and found yourself muttering "the lady doth protest too much" (sigh) You saw right through me. I am that protestin' lady. I did it too much.

Hilary receives her star. I'll kneel to polish it on every trip to Hollywood

Oh but what else could I have done? The enormity of Her frightened me. I put on boxing gloves with my ($10) Million Dollar Baby, foolishly trying to fight off the inevitable. But no more. I will be strong and proud and true. When I speak of my "Angel" I'll be Iron Jawed. Now I can Write this Freedom for all to read. I've unlocked The Core of my heart to let Hilary Swank inside. She's The Gift I've been waiting for through the long dull days of my cinephilia when I tried to convince myself that the Pfeiffers, the Streeps, the Winslets of the worlds were the ones that deserved Two Best Actress Oscars.

I've doused myself in Insolence to write todays' top ten list. If Hilary can't hear my new affection, maybe she can smell it?

Hilary's 10 Greatest Performances

honorable mention: (tie) Boys Don't Cry (1999) & Million Dollar Baby (2004)
You know what they say about Academy Awards. They give Oscars to the right people but for the wrong performances. Good stuff (hey, it's Hilary!) but minor accomplishments in the Swank filmography.

10. The Reaping (2007)
I was nearly hit by a car trying to get a snapshot of the billboard. Her performance in this horror/thriller was even more dangerous.

<--- Hilary is out of this world!

09. The Core (2003)
I'm not sure what research she did to prepare for the role but it worked. She's absolutely believable as an astronaut.

08. Freedom Writers (2007)
In which she showed Edward James Olmos, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Sidney Poitier how teaching gigs should be done. No wonder she has more Oscars than them.

07. The Film I'm Going To Write For Her (2010?)
When I look into Hilary's gorgeous brown peepers I feel like I know her soul. I need to create for her. I didn't want to be too boastful so I put this @ #7 instead of #1. This post is about Hilary not me!

06. The Affair of the Pearl Necklace (∞)


05. Insomnia (2002)
I lose sleep over how great she is in this Alaskan thriller. I hope Pacino was taking notes. I only wish they could edit Stellan Skarsgaard out of the original Norwegian film and let Hilary refilm his scenes. Because he is a terrible actor and Hilary can play a man (see #10). I bet she could learn Norwegian too.

04. The Next Karate Kid (1994)
Ralph Macchio is a tough act to follow but damned if she didn't pull it off.

03. The Gift (2000)
That fugly mullet hairdo... only the bravest of actresses would allow herself to be unattractive onscreen. And that high pitched painfully slow-drawl line reading "I've been thinking bad thoughts." God, it absolutely haunts me still.

02. Beverly Hills 90210
It's probably cheating to include a television show but this show reached its slow boiling peek under her revelatory work as single mother "Carly Reynolds" who dates Ian Whatshisface. I can't remember his name. I saw only Hilary.

01. P.S. I Love You
Because each new performance from this two time Oscar winner is a cinematic event. In this new film, her Christmas gift to us, Hilary's husband (Gerard Butler --God, she could so do better) dies but leaves her notes to help her move on with her life. December 21st is just four months away. I can't wait.

I'll hold my breath.

"H.S. I Love You"
It's the only thing left to say
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Want more BIZARRO? Click for the blog-a-thon

What If You Do Great Work and Hollywood Doesn't Notice?

Hood-riding Death Proof amazon Zoë Bell, surprise badass Freddy Rodriguez (I did not see "El Ray" coming watching Six Feet Under, did you?), and syringe-wielding wide eyed Marley Shelton were the revelations of Grindhouse this past Spring. While it's true that the movie flopped it's also true that actors can ignite their careers by doing unarguably charismatic and scene-stealing work. Even in flops.

Zoë Bell is getting her shot with a project developed for her but what the hell is going on with Freddy & Marley? Freddy has only another ensemble role on the way. He'll be part of the Napa wine industry drama Bottle Shock. Marley, so completely attuned to Planet Terror's comic absurdity and giving the movie a couple of its very best moments. Where's the breakthrough? I sincerely hope this is a case of delayed career explosion. Maybe she's taking meetings every day in Hollywood... perhaps she's swimming in offers and I just don't know it. She has only one new film listed on IMDB and she was probably involved with that before Planet Terror premiered. Why isn't she being cast in everything? I demand an answer!

70:02 (Courage?)

BIZARRO a screenshot from the 20th minute and 7th second 70th minute and 2nd second of a movie

The Wizard says 'Go away!'

(Yeah, yeah, I'm done with 20:07...mostly) The Bizarro Blog-a-Thon has begun and I thought this reversed promo would be a good way to remind myself to find some COURAGE. I'll need it to say what I gotta say... later today.

Exquisite Corpse #1

Over the weekend I asked y'all to play "exquisite corpse" with me. In case you missed it: the wicked instructions. Here's our first corpse. [click to enlarge]



Where did the evil scientists (their unholy names below) get these body parts? Guess and/or give this mutant cinematic creature a fitting name in the comments.

Head unearthed by J.D. Judge
Lily identified it: a Return of the King hobbit head. Billy Boyd's

Torso wrestled away by Brian Darr under the watchful eye of Hitchcock himself (Blackmail). Nobody guessed it.

Legs dragged directly from the beach by Melinda
And Ben, who watches movies, knows just where she got them: They're Daniel Craig's from Casino Royale. That infamous baby blue swimsuit must've given it away.

what have i linked to deserve this?

Guardian Unlimited Almodóvar on the boards in London
The Man Who Viewed Too Much TIFF a bit early
The Hot Blog More Sweeney Teasing
Scanners "gimme them old-time furrin pictures"
Big Screen Little Screen likes to see Parker Posey "roll around in a role"
Movie Marketing Madness on why Lust, Caution got that NC-17
Awards Daily is conspiring with every other film news blog to get me excited about Eastern Promises which I was weirdly not all that expectant of, despite my passion for A History of Violence
And one final thing. Over at Stale Popcorn a confession: "Lists Make Glenn Angry". Heh. That's actually why I've sort of stopped reading them (no really) and why I should stop contributing to them. The anger isn't good for me. I can't take the constant 'whatever just happened is the best thing evah!!!!' mentality. Though I'll still love individual listings. Those have real kick and personality. Unless group project 'all time' lists ignore, say, the past 5 to 10 years (for which there can be little perspective yet) and unless they poll more than one type of person, they suck.

Notes from Venice - Day 0

Thanks to Nathaniel for his graceful intro!

For those unfamiliar with me and my site european-films.net: nice to virtually meet you all. I'm Boyd, a kid with a movie tic trapped in a 27-year-old's body. I've been writing about film since Salma Hayek was robbed of an Oscar. Over at european-films.net I cover European films (duh!) and also cover all the major films (European and otherwise) that play at the major European film festivals, which means I travel in circles from Berlin to Cannes to Venice to Berlin each year. It's a tough job but someone's got to do it!

Venice is actually my favorite festival because of its special place on the calender (the first true Oscar launchpad), the nice climate, great food and (not unimportant) their great taste in movies. I mean, they gave Brokeback Mountain the Golden Lion just two years ago. And check out their track record: Monsoon Wedding, Trois Couleurs: Bleu, Belle de Jour, Last Year at Marienbad, Aparajito, Rashomon... these are all considered classics.

The Venice Film Festival will in fact celebrate its 75th anniversary this year -- take that Cannes, which celebrated its 60th b-day in May -- but its 2007 edition is only the 64th time the festival takes place. The festival is part of a much larger cultural organization called the Biennale, which, as the name indicates, organizes (or at least used to organize) cultural events every other year.

So, the 64th/75th anniversary edition will kick off on Wednesday with the world premiere of Atonement, Joe Wright's follow-up to his much lauded debut Pride & Prejudice. I've already had a sneak peek a couple of weeks ago and I can tell you that the movie, an adaptation of the eponymous bestseller by Ian McEwan, will likely be a big awards contender. It is not a flawless masterpiece, but as romances go, it is pretty heartbreaking and unforgettable.

The couple played by Keira Knightley and James McAvoy will have entire multiplexes fumbling for the Kleenexes in the dark and will leave Oscar-voters little choice but nominate them again (Knightley) or for the first time (McAvoy, who was shamelessly overlooked for his work on The Last King of Scotland). Read my full Atonement review here.

Something possibly even more fun than guessing Oscar nominees and winners is guessing the gay characters and/or elements in the recently announced line-up of the Queer Lion Award, a new prize at the Venice Film Festival that will award a film that "accurately portrays homosexual characters or themes". Who is playing gay? Most of the films listed are not particularly explicit about the gay angle in the material released so far. Could it be Brad Pitt? Casey Affleck? Owen Wilson? Adrien Brody? Michael Caine? Jude Law? Or perhaps a lovely foreign-accented man such as Bruno Todeschini, Benoît Magimel, Sami Bouajila or Daniel Wu?

US films on the Queer Lion contenders list are four: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford with Pitt and Affleck; Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited with Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman and the indie flicks Speed of Life (Superheroes) from Ed Radtke, a juvenile delinquent drama, and the road trip movie Searchers 2.0 from Alex Cox. Law and Caine co-star in the Kenneth Branagh's UK remake of 1972's Sleuth, which also starred Caine.

Start your guesses/wish lists for possible gay characters in the comments, and I'll be checking in from Wednesday on to tell you all about it.

Notes from Venice

A special treat for you all! I am always planning to expand my film festival coverage but the necessary funds continue to elude me. So, happy day!, Boyd of European Films fame has volunteered to be the special Film Experience correspondent from the 64th Annual Venice International Film Festival which runs Aug 29 - Sept 8.

He'll be popping in right here with stargazing and screening notes so keep an eye out. And to Boyd I say "Grazie!"

Supporting Oscar Hierarchy and Dianne Wiest

Today is the last Sunday in the month. Which means StinkyLulu is holding another "supporting actress smackdown" (this time it's for 1971: Ann-Margret displays her Carnal Knolwedge, Burstyn & Leachman attend The Last Picture Show, Margaret Leighton Gos Between and the 70s awesomeness sometimes referred to as "Barbara Harris" round out the pack. I just finished reading it. Yum Yum.

I'm sure that Stinky didn't like that the last post was Lead Actresses only --no edges allowed! So, for comparisons sake, here's your top 7 All Time Oscar Supporting Actress Favorites.


o1. Thelma Ritter (50, 51, 52, 53, 59, 62) six nominations and she never won :(
02. There's a six-way tie beneath her, all @ 4 nominations each. You have to start with...
Maggie Smith (65, 78, 86, 01) Could this double winner topple Ritter's supporting nomination record? She's 72 years-old but still makes a movie each year. She's keeping company with...
Ethel Barrymore (44, 46, 47, 49) Drew's Great Aunt
Lee Grant (51, 70, 75, 76)
Agnes Moorehead (42, 44, 48, 64)
Geraldine Page (53, 66, 72, 84) more on Page soon
Maureen Stapleton (58, 70, 78, 81)

Beyond that top tier, 11 women are tied including four who are still working: Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, and Frances McDormand. The latter two both still get baity roles, the former is charging towards another Emmy on Damages...

A Question/Rant of Utmost Importance
...which brings me to Dianne Wiest. I'm completely nutso for the best squinty-eyed actress ever. I just don't understand why all the high profile supporting roles have escaped her since she won her second Oscar. Think on this for a moment: Has any other double Oscar winner (male or female) won for performances as diverse as the ones she served up in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Bullets Over Broadway (1994)? Aside from the fact that they're both Woody Allen projects, what connects those women? To underline her range even further let's also point out that they're very different women than Wiest's standard typecast role 'the concerned mom' which she's played dozens of times, Parenthood (1989, Oscar nominated) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) being the most famous variations and they're also very different than the women she played in other Woody Allen pictures.

Please to explain. Someone? Anyone? I don't think it's hyperbole to say that she's one of the best actors on the planet. Why is nobody giving her anything interesting to act? Where is Woody? Dump Scarlett and write something for Dianne again already. Shouldn't this woman be considered for meaty stuff like what Dench, Burstyn, Blethyn, McDormand or Bates occassionally get? Argh!

Oscar's Best Actress Hierarchy. A Discussion

I'm psyching myself up for Fall pre-Oscar season. Join me. You know how it goes once September hits. The prestige movies arrive and virtually everything from trailers to talk shows to box office numbers work as viral "for your consideration" ads. The new banner up top, which I've broken into two for discussion purposes here, shows in descending order the women with the most "Best Actress" nominations. No supporting nominations were included in the totals. These are Oscar's favorite leading ladies ranked. And this, is (duh) my favorite category.


01. Katharine Hepburn -12 nominations (32/33, 35, 40, 42, 51, 55, 56, 59, 62, 67, 68, 81) look at that time span ~ just astounding isn't it?
02. Meryl Streep -11 nominations (81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 90, 95, 98, 99, 06) the most modern woman on the list in terms of Oscar since she switches between supporting and lead nominations: that's very common now but it didn't use to be for big stars.
03. Bette Davis -10 nominations (35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 50, 52, 62)
04. Greer Garson -7 nominations (39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 60) She's the least well known today but see any of her performances and understand why Oscar fell hard. A charm machine.


05. (Tie ~6 lead noms each... in chronological order)
Norma Shearer (yay! 29/30, 30/31, 34, 36, 38) One could argue that she's only had 5 noms since she was nominated for two different performances in one year --before they changed the rules on that. But why quibble? Norma needs -- nay deserves your love
Ingrid Bergman (43, 44, 45, 48, 56, 78)
Deborah Kerr (49, 53, 56, 57, 58, 60) the most nominated female lead to have never won the naked shiny man... though Peter O'Toole has her beat overall in the male counterpart category
Jane Fonda (69, 71, 77, 78, 79, 86)
Sissy Spacek (76, 80, 82, 84, 86, 01)

The last time there was a significant change in the field was when Spacek joined, expanding Oscar's top eight women to a top nine once In the Bedroom (2001) hit, ending her 15 year Oscar drought. How long until someone forces a true top ten?


10. (eight-way tie with 5 lead nominations each)
The next group (5 lead noms) is bigger and includes actresses who've passed away (Susan Hayward, Anne Bancroft, Audrey Hepburn) and one retired giant (La Liz!) so let's just talk about the ones that are still living and working in films and who, thus, still have a chance at increasing their legends:

Shirley Maclaine (58, 60, 63, 77, 83)
Ellen Burstyn (73, 74, 78, 80, 00)
Jessica Lange (82, 84, 85, 89, 94)
Susan Sarandon (81, 91, 92, 94, 95)

Almost all of them have been working strictly in ensembles in recent years. Can they find their own In the Bedroom?

18. (fourteen-way tie: 4 lead noms each)
Just below them in the Oscar horse race are many who've passed on (Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, Greta Garbo, Janet Gaynor, Rosalind Russell) five retired winners (Jennifer Jones, Jane Wyman, Olivia DeHavilland, Joanne Woodward, Glenda Jackson) and one who has moved to TV guest work (Marsha Mason)...

Three working legends are also in this tier. How many more rungs up the ladder can Judi Dench (97, 01, 05, 06), Diane Keaton (77, 81, 96, 03) or Vanessa Redgrave (66, 68, 72, 84) climb? Or is it supporting roles from here on out?

Oscar's 80th birthday is just six months away ~ What happens to the Best Actress field in Oscar's octogenarian years? Must we wait until Kate Winslet is in her 40s for a real shakeup of the rank? You want to share your theories about the future of this hierarchy in the comments. You know you do.

Thanks to ~Little Golden Guy for a great database. Related stuff ~This year's Best Actress Race (updates soon) or click any of the labels below for more on these cinema greats...

Extras, Extras, Talking All About It

Do you think the actors in this scene have annoyed their loved ones with constant stories about 'that time I worked with Nicole Kidman' ?


Because, well, wouldn't you if you were in their shoes? I often wonder that about extras in spectacular spectacular movie sequences. To be fair these men are singing and dancing so this is a good deal more than typical "extra" work but still... the question remains. Was this a special day or just another day in the office for these guys? (Tangent: Yes, I'm feeling guilt about that abandoned MR! project. One of these days. One of these days...) I sometimes wonder about things like that. I'd love to chat with any one of these guys about that day(s).

If you've ever been an extra or more in a movie, tell us about it in the coments.

An Invitation to Play "Exquisite Corpse"

As a child I was fascinated by the drawing game Exquisite Corpse in which a piece of paper is folded in three and passed 'round the room. One person draws a head, the next person draws a torso (without seeing the head, the paper still folded) and the final person draws the legs and feet (w/out seeing head or body). The paper unfolds to reveal an often hilarious, surreal, frightening figure, an 'exquisite corpse' (here's an example for the confused)

The Film Experience loves reader participation. So --can you see where this is going?--let's play this surreal game together

You: Nathaniel I really want to play!!!
Me: Good, I thought you might.
You: What do I do?
Me: Oh beloved reader, it's easy. You simply screengrab or find and crop an image of one of the following three things:
a) a movie character viewed from the neck up
b) a movie character viewed from the neck to hips
c) a movie character viewed from the hips down.

Send me the file (the bigger the better --but in jpeg format please) and let me know what movie it's from and your blog/site url if you have one.
You: What happens then?
Me: I piece your pic together with two others images sent by other readers and credit you all when the lovely frankenstein movie moster is revealed. We can all share a laugh or squeal of horror (or both) and then everyone can try to figure out which movies the body parts are culled from.

Get it? Got it? Good! It's easier than it sounds. I'll post the first corpse as soon as I have enough entries. We'll continue if we enjoy ourselves. Deal?

Now Playing (08/24)

L I M I T E D
Closing Escrow comedy about real estate agents and home buying. Aren't there a million reality shows on TV now on the same topic?
<---Dedication Billy Crudup is an eccentric children's book author (is there any other kind?) who has lost his illustrating partner (Tom Wilkinson). He resists the new artist in his life (Mandy Moore)...at first. Directed by Justin Theroux (mmm, Justin)
Deep Water a doc about an infamous boat race in '68
Eye of the Dolphin A young girl befriends a dolphin in the Bahamas. I think we're all asking the same question here: Do they play Olivia Newton-Johns' immortal "Promise (Dolphin Song)" on the soundtrack. If not, I'm boycotting
Hannah Takes the Stairs (love the title) a new entry in the growing "mumblecore" movement. Hannah has already won admirers in cinephile heavy corners of the blogosphere
The Hottest State Ethan Hawke directs Mark Webber, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Laura Linney, Sonia Braga, Michelle Willliams and himself in this romantic... dramedy?
Right at Your Door A terrorism thriller. It's using a comparison to 24 as a pull quote so, er, pass...

W I D E
Illegal Tender "always protect the family"
Mr Bean's Holiday I love him in shorts but I'm scared of feature length Bean
The Nanny Diaries our girl Scarjo takes on The Linney. Even if its bad, so what?
Resurrecting the Champ Josh Hartnett is now playing dads. I feel so old. In other news: Samuel L Jackson plays a homeless man called "The Champ" Life lessons / redemption sure to follow
September Dawn Jon Voight plays mormon prophet Brigham Young in this reenactment of the massacre of September 11th, 1857, which the movie posits as the first act of religous terrorism on US soil. I bet they aren't happy about this in Salt Lake
War Jet Li vs. Jason Statham. Why does it even need a trailer? or a title for that matter? Shouldn't "action star vs action star" be enough to get asses in seats?

I N _T H E A T E R S _ A N D _ R E V I E W E D
Death at a Funeral (pictured, right) this is my latest review in which I get frustrated with strenuous Brit comedy and do some hair pulling about distribution schedules for both Indie & Hollywood fare. Also: Becoming Jane, Hairspray, La Vie En Rose, Once, Ratatouille, Stardust, and Transformers

Words of Wisdom from Catalina Sandino Moreno

"I just think you have to be good at one thing. You just have to learn that craft. I'm not going to launch any perfumes and I'm not going to start singing."
[src]

Kissing Volver

kissing ~ a new series. *mwah*

Pedro Almodovar's filmography offers an abundance of affectionate hooks, but the kissing in Volver is one of his most ingenious. That double cheeked, loud repetitive smacking added so much to the humor and pathos to an already great film. The kissing served up an amusing blend of true intimacy and wary distance-keeping.

Let's take a look...would that this post also had sound!

Volver begins in a cemetery where daughters busily clean their mothers' grave. Just as soon as they've packed up their supplies to head home it's suddenly girls gone wild ... with kissing!


The festive smacking is prompted by the entrance of Agustina (Blanca Portillo in green above), a friend to Volver's central family. She is the movie's loudest and most passionate kissing advocate. Agustina gives young Paula four kisses remarking "she's all grown up!", Raimunda (a justly Oscar nominated Penelope Cruz) gets two. Finally Agustina meets her match as she embraces Sole (the wonderful Lola Dueñas in blue). Sole's smooches are the only rivals to Agustina's in enthusiasm and volume. They trade five (five!) noisy smackeroos. It sounds like ten.

And then the ladies are off to see Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave, FB cameo gold medalist)


This possibly senile old woman is pickier about her cheek-to-cheek time. Raimunda gives her dear Aunt six affectionally received kisses. Aunt Paula then cheerfully trades two with Raimunda's daughter, noticing their shared name. Warily, she accepts two cheek pecks from Sole.

Aunt Paula's instant distrust of this forgotten niece is one of the movies funniest jokes. Immediately following the kiss she proclaims to Raimunda...

That Sole looks like one right sourpuss

A line that's even funnier than its delivery since Sole (pictured, right) almost always has a genuinely good-natured expression plastered on her face.

Aunt Paula remains unconvinced about this Sole character as they all say goodbye. To Raimunda she gives a huge hug complete with six kisses again, two simple kisses go to the younger Paula and, with a rather confused "must I?" expression on her face, the forgetful woman succumbs to two cheek-to-cheeks from the sourpuss.


Raimunda blows her ancient Auntie a kiss and heads out the door. Next stop: Agustina's across the street.

Agustina restrains herself when her friends arrive and lets her lips busy themselves with chatting. She also offers up a doobie. Her first kiss in this scene is actually delivered from lips to fingers to a photo on the wall. The woman in the photo is her long missing and possibly dead mother -- "the only hippie in the village" she proudly notes. Agustina, who is sickly herself, is in some ways the bridge character between the living and the dead in Volver so it's fitting that she kisses them, too.

When the sisters take their leave Agustina's lips attack again. Four kisses each for Raimunda and Paula. And another competitive kiss-a-thon with Sole, six kisses shared.


Will the kissing ever end? We're only 15 minutes into the movie and the kiss counter has reached an incredible...


There's a whole lot of lip smacking in Volver --has there ever been a movie with more kissing? Plant another one on me Pedro, please.
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~if you love this post, please link it or email to friends.
Spread the love as freely as Agustina spreads kisses!~
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The Link Runner

European Films 1st Official Submission for Oscar's foreign film race announced: The Netherlands are pushing Duska (yes, I'll get the foreign page going on my Oscar section)
Buzz Sugar has this weekly "recasting" challenge thing. This week they're eyeing West Side Story. To quote me pal Nick 'why u wanna hurt me?'
Deep Focus worries about the bowdlerization of The Golden Compass
Zoom In James Lyons (RIP) speaks about the art of film editing
My New Plaid Pants photos from a new Greenaway production. I miss him.
Fishbowl LA Hollywood as a Logan's Run business. 'Kill 'em once they reach 35' Based on the last line of this article I assume this is a comedic take on the situation but still...
Steve on Broadway Billy Elliott on B'way. Only 390ish days away!
To Whom It May Concern "Dear Creative Block, ..."
I Watch Stuff Cassandra's Dream trailer. If it's anything like Match Point, yes please
ALAP thinks Blanchett might be the first to win two acting Oscars in one night. He thinks that'd be "rad" I personally would choose a different adjective... and maybe a 4-letter word to go with it.

And finally... I discovered while browsing Read Roger that novelist Lloyd Alexander died earlier this summer. I had no idea. I absolutely loved his books (The Chronicles of Prydain) as a kid and it's still a fervent hope of mine that some talented filmmaker will do them justice. Disney messed up badly when they tried to scrunch three novels together for their animated take on The Black Cauldron. More inexplicably they removed several indelible and movie-friendly character traits from the main trio of characters. Disney probably holds the rights for all time (sigh) but a boy can dream that someone somehow somewhere will give this series another movie chance.

Hump Day Hotties: Emily Blunt and The Young Victoria

Remember when The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) was filming and people were so excited about how gorgeous it was going to look? Italian locations, Anthony (English Patient) Minghella in the director's chair, Law & Paltrow & Blanchett & Damon as the luscious quartet in front of the camera (only PS Hoffman was spoiling that particular pretty party). The finished film looked even more scrumptious than a lot of people were hoping for once it finally arrived. I'm not quite sure why my mind leapt back there while looking at the cast list of 2008's The Young Victoria --aside from a quartet of attractive actors, the projects aren't similar -- but it did so I decided to go with it...


I hope The Young Victoria is worth waiting for. She stepped before cameras last week. I'm not normally wild about biopics but I do enjoy a good costume drama. More to the point I'm eager to witness the gamble whenever an actor I like a lot --in this case 24 year-old Emily Blunt of My Summer of Love and The Devil Wears Prada fame -- makes their first big leap into star vehicles.

Those two films suggest that Emily is a young actress of fine range, at home in both sensual drama and bitchy comedy. In the next few years, make or break ones for her, she'll have ample opportunities to prove her worth elsewhere too. She's got seven films coming out in the next couple of years.


There's more on Blunt in the new issue of Mean magazine if you wanna read about it.

But returning to The Young Victoria, this royal beauty won't have to carry it alone. She'll have handsome older men swirling around her supporting some of the weight. Thomas Kretschmann (45) who excelled as an unexpectedly humane Nazi in The Pianist and got smooshed by dinosaurs in King Kong will play Victoria's uncle. Paul Bettany (36) will play Victoria's advisor. I'm happy he's getting to play something other than the creepy villain role but I do hope someone gives him another chance at light romantic dramedy. He was better in Wimbledon than he gets credti for.

Finally there's Rupert Friend (25, left) as Prince Albert, Victoria's eventual hubby. Chances are you won't actually see the 'prince albert' on Rupert but the rest of him is worth watching anyhow, wouldn't you say? We last saw Rupert as the romantic red herring in Pride & Prejudice. In real life he wasn't such a red herring for Keira Knightley

Around the edges of this fine quartet, even better actors are lurking. TFE favorite Jim Broadbent appears as does the woefully underutilised Miranda Richardson. It pains me greatly to see her in hideous thankless roles like Mrs. Claus in Fred Claus (coming soon. I must have been naughty rather than nice). How can Hollywood continue to waste the woman who can do what this woman did in Dance With a Stranger (1985), The Crying Game (1992), Damage (1992) and Spider (2003)? An Oscar nomination for the latter was never going to happen given the nature of the film and that idiotic one week qualifying release in LA in 2002 but please know that her work ran circles around most of the women that were nominated that year. Ugh. Let's not even discuss it!
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Harvey the Tease

Harvey Weinstein speaking out on I'm Not There's Oscar plans

if Cate Blanchett doesn't get nominated, I'll shoot myself

Oh, Harvey! Do you promise?!?
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Top Ten: Future Biopics

tuesday top ten. for the list maker in me and the list lover in you

Christian Bale, my friend, is blowing in the wind

I’ve developed a reputation for hating biopics and whilst perusing a list of them the other day I realized that I actually don’t. In the recent past I’ve loved Ed Wood (1994), Marie Antoinette (2006), The Aviator (2004) and loved pieces of others like Ali (2001) and Hilary & Jackie (1998). It turns out I just hate what most filmmakers do with the genre. My theory is this: They're dangerous movies to make because they're too easy to phone in. The storyline is written for you if you don’t feel like shaping it into a dynamic structure. No film genre is more boring if a lazy or uninspired writer / director is behind the wheel. Those birth + arm chair psychology friendly life shaping event + event + event + event until death screenplays? Wake me up when the movie is over. The performance blueprints are also mostly in place for the actors so if they don’t have any ideas about the character they can just copy the real mccoy and still win accolades.

So for today’s top ten, I am opening my heart to the genre. Here’s ten biographical pictures I’d love to see. Some are really happening. Others are lost dreams.

Biopics I Want To See

10. I’m Not There (2007)
For all intents and purposes this should be #1. Writer/director/genius Todd Haynes has never made a bad film. More promising than that (considering the type of film under discussion) he’s never made a film that isn’t highly interesting. “Highly interesting” is even more rare than “great” when biopics are involved. I'm Not There, Haynes' multi-actor rumination on Bob Dylan, is #10 rather than #1 because I am tired of being anxious to see it. I’m trying not to think about it until the day I sit down in the theater. I'm even attempting to ignore the trailer. Don’t even tell me about it in the comments!

09. Kirsten Dunst in Blondie (200?)
About a year ago Kirsten Dunst, arguably the most hated young actress in Hollywood --or at least on the internet, was rumored to be signing on to a Debbie Harry biopic. Nothing concrete has happened since. I'm hoping she lands a high profile demanding role soon. Any open minded perusal of her work outside of the Spider-Man series and Elizabethtown could only bring the viewer to one conclusion: this girl can act! I’m so tired of reading bitchy comments to the contrary. It’s sheer ignorance given that we’ve seen her work wonders with drama (crazy/beautiful, virgin suicides), genre pieces (interview with e vampire) light comedy (bring it on) and, yes, biopics. She's great in the underseen Cat’s Meow (old review) and she's just what Sofia Coppola ordered in Marie Antoinette (top ten 2006). I may be the lone member of the Kiki fan club but I'm OK with that.

08. The Young Victoria (2008) More on this one here

07. Monty (development hell)
Montgomery Clift is a dark celluloid legend. A movie about him could potentially make for a great film --provided that the filmmaker had something to say about all sorts of touchy subjects that swirl into the Clift mix: homosexuality, Hollywood beauty and the loss of it, the death of old Hollywood acting and the birth of the method, as well as all sorts of topics covered by almost every other biopic made (addictions, early death, rise and fall of the famous)


Even if Monty didn't have something deep to say it could be gorgeous to look at. As recently as The Aviator we were reminded that recreations of classic Hollywood are unbeatable eye candy for movie lovers. But this dreaming is all for naught since this project has been dead for years. Even if it weren't there's a huge elephant of a hurdle for the production to jump. Good luck finding an actor to measure up to the man in question (all of the people who've played him in the past --he's been a character in other Hollywood biopics-- haven't). Reminder: The Clift Blog-a-Thon is coming in October.

06 Robert Moses
I once asked the Cinemarati (RIP) readers about what biopics people they'd like to see. Somebody brought up this polarizing 20th century behemoth and I thought it was a great answer. Why hasn't some ambitious filmmaker thought to devote a biopic to the man who helped build New York and who shaped the future of the modern city in general? He seems like an ideal fit for the movies. Other brilliant and influential men who accomplished impossible feats have had movies made about them. Why not Moses? He's a colorful enough figure to fill out a movie and he was a mover and shaker in a cinematic time and place (early 20th century New York).

05 Georgia O'Keefe
You'll have to travel back in time for this one. A long time ago in a Hollywood far far away a goddess named Michelle Pfeiffer wanted to play the famous artist in a movie. I've learned to not hold my breath when Pfeiffer expresses interest in something. Even if she does so repeatedly (see also: Jodie Foster as Leni Reifenstahl... which I forgot about while cooking up this list)

I'm not sure if this project ever truly had a pulse but for a long while after its maybe death, I held out hope. After all the photos one sees of O'Keefe are almost always of an older regal looking woman. I would watch Pfeiffer do anything. Why not watch her paint absurdly closeup images of flowers? I'm dialing up moviefone right now for tickets.

04 The Countess (2008)
I wrote about this one @ Zoom In last week

03 Baz Luhrmann's Alexander (2004 oh, never mind)
You know what would be spectacular spectacular? If Baz would take on his own boy (or girl) wonder directorial apprentice. They could pick up his discarded projects and run with them. The story of Alexander the Great is too cinematic to have Oliver Stone's weirdly tentative and talky misfire as its chief modern vessel.

02 The Mayor of Castro Street (2009)
The last time I read about this biopic of slain politican Harvey Milk, out gay director Bryan Singer (X-Men, Superman Returns) had it on his schedule shortly after Valkyrie (now filming with Tom Cruise). I'm glad that a gay director is on board. The famous San Francisco politician has had enough mistreatment in his life, what with his murderer getting off lightly with that infamous "twinkie defense". Hopefully a queer director will understand how to tell the story without cheapening it or misrepresenting it. The Times of Harvey Milk is one of my all time favorite documentaries. If the live action feature telling of his life is anywhere close to as good and moving we're talking Oscar nominations.


01 Toni Collette as Liza Minelli
(now playing on every screen in the multiplex in Nathaniel's head)
Ever since I first imagined this dream role for Toni it's been my #1 favorite movie fantasy. Think about it: Toni can sing and dance, she has a weirdly bulbous lower lip and so does Liza. They've both got huge eyes and kooky beauty. In one musical swoop, Toni Collette could finally win that deserved Oscar and Liza-mania could be reborn!

recent top tens
Fall Film Preview * Oscar Nominationless
sort of unrelated but...
I just watched Volver again and now I want a biopic of Pedro Almódovar. Love that man.
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DVD: Berry, Browncoats, Betty

TV
Ugly Betty I don't usually mention TV DVD releases but this series collects delectable B list movie actresses like Gina Gershon, Lucy Liu and Rebecca Romijn who all ought to get better movie roles than they do, don'cha think? I bet executive producer Salma Hayek (left... and how pregnant is she!?) ups the star ante in the second season.

The Cult of Personality
Broken English I am Nathaniel's guilt for abandoning Parker Posey. I haven't seen so many of her recent efforts. What's wrong with me? Must correct that.
Serenity (Collectors Edition) Joss Whedon fans have another DVD to snatch up as the movie version of Firefly gets an extras-loaded edition. Now if only we could get the Buffyverse revived for television or movies.

She Owes Us
Perfect Stranger "Halle Berry, [shakes head disapprovingly] have you seen your filmography lately?"

Oscar Completists
The Lives of Others won the foreign film Oscar this past February. I still haven't seen it but I'll tell you this. After Pan's Labyrinth stole Children of Men's cinematography Oscar I wanted it to lose the big one. Payback is a bitch.

Rufus is a Hit, Man

This post title is a pun on the Loudon Wainwright song "Rufus is a Tit Man" which the famous folk singer wrote about his son long before that same son became the 'gay messiah' of folk rock. I stood in the rain for hours Sunday night for another great Rufus show. I'm still wet.

Raving about Rufus Wainwright @ the film experience is more movie appropriate than it seems at first due to his neverending love for & tributes to the world's greatest entertainer Judy Garland. He's a man after my own heart. Rufus has revealed himself to be quite the actressexual these past few years, hasn't he?

Nevertheless for those who don't quite get the Rufus thing, my apologies. But also, um, your loss. More Rufus concert lovin' @ Zoom In...
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Collectible Madness

Today at The Exploding Kinetoscope Chris Stangl plays with his Winona Ryder doll... I'm sorry, action figure. I kid you not. I love this post. Mr. Stangl brings up a great point about the lack of Winona collectibles out there. Who wouldn't snap up a "polystone statue of Veronica Sawyer from Heathers, posed with a croquet mallet and a fistful of Red Vines"? I mean, I'd buy 10!

This also begs the question: Which movie collectible (real or imagined) do you most wish you could play with? (And no fair cribbing from Christopher Guest's Guffman wrap up for your answer)

Joan Allen is 51

"Now that we’ve found Jason Bourne, you should all devote your time to
locating my Oscar. No excuses. This is top priority!"

Day of Rest

"It's showtime" It's not showtime yet. Roy Gideon (pictured here from All That Jazz) needs a hot shower, several pills, eye drops and classical musical to get his day rolling. I just need hot showers, coffee and ...well... more hours in each day.

Coming up this week: the long promised article on All That Jazz, a future biopic I'm actually excited about (what?), belated short reviews and lots of k-i-s-s-i-n-g. No really. Stay tuned.

This or That? Lust, Caution

The Asian and the American posters respectively for the forthcoming Ang Lee picture Lust, Caution .


I'm a loudmouth about my own opinions if I have a strong one. In this case... not so sure. Speaking very generally I'd say I prefer international posters to American ones. They take more chances and they are less beholden to the "sell the star!" mandate --either that or I'm just not as inured to their dominant clichés. Both posters feel less satisfying than hoped for what must be seen as one of the Fall's most promising features.

They use similar diagonal lines but aside from that they differ quite heavily. The Asian poster definitely casts Tony Leung as the protagonist. Even though he's backgrounded, the obscuring of Tang Wei's face and the emphasis on her body pushes her into the "lust" portion of the title and reads like a typical example of cinema's male gaze.

...so you're in Tony's shoes there. He's your proxy. You're lusting for Wei together. Unfortunately the general composition makes me think of the Basic Instinct 2 poster. That's not a pleasant field of vision for the mind's eye to have strolled into while its guard was down. Look away! Look away!

I like the stylized more postery feel of the American version better except for that it feels so hesistant. There might be lust and/or caution between the man and woman but it's not coming through. They could just as easily be casual acquaintances in an elevator with unusually moody lighting. Or maybe they're business rivals/partners waiting to enter a boardroom for a big presentation. Whatever they are, an arm crossing the body doesn't invite the onlooker like, say, a womanly silhouette leaning backwards.

Do you know what either of these posters are selling? Are you buying?

20:07 Guess The Movies

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

This is the 90th episode of the 20:07 series. Whew. It's time to say goodbye * Your pleas to continue have been noted... so special 20:07's will pop up from time to time but I can't manage a daily series when I have so many other fun projects to share here and Oscar season coming up. Thanks -the management. To end things with a bang, here's some images that I didn't use. 20:07 isn't usually your typical screenshot quiz but it is this time.

COMPLETED Thanks for playing. Only one still was never guessed by anyone. And it's #10, the 60s musical


#1 MOGAMBO (1953) somebody's crying. And that somebody is Ava Gardner who got her first and only Oscar nomination here. Correctly guessed by kingroper (Fun wrong guesses: All That Heaven Allows (the color), Silkwood (the porch), or Johnny Guitar (almost the right year!)

#2 JULES ET JIM (1962) Correctly guessed by John T and Marissa. (Wrong guesses: Rebecca, The Seventh Seal, Rashomon, Wild Strawberries, Persona)

#3 RING (2002) Guessed correctly by Justin, Garen and Michael B --that image is Naomi Watts realizing that there's a time pattern to those teenage deaths (Fun wrong guesses: Brick, Pretty Persuasion, John Tucker Must Die, Zodiac, Mean Girls)

#4 NASHVILLE (1975) One of my favorite movies of all time... the giveaway is the mobile political sign on the car in the rear, a recurring image throughout the movie. Correctly guessed by Paul, Dr. G, Nick and StinkyLulu

#5 BATMAN BEGINS (2005) It's Liam Neeson and Christian Bale fighting on the ice. A friendly fight but still a tussle. Correctly guessed by Michael B, Mikadzuki, Dr. G and Daniel A. (Fun wrong guesses: Brokeback Mountain and Fargo)

#6 STORMY WEATHER (1943) "he's got educated feet!" Guessed by Deborah (author of The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book) Fun wrong guesses so far: It's not The Jazz Singer or The Littlest Rebel which was a good guess since it also starred Bill Robinson.

#7 MY FAIR LADY (1964) I could've been really misleading with the clue here and said "a musical number is NOT about to take place" which is true...believe it or not. But then you'd all think it wasn't a musical. Correctly guessed by Michael B, David, jrbyrne, Roy, JLT/JLT, Paul, Dr. G, Nick and StinkyLulu (Fun wrong guesses: Age of Innocence, Oliver! and Gangs of New York)

#8 DRACULA (1931) A lot of this ship's inhabitants are not going to survive this ocean journey. Correctly guessed by goatdog.

#9 BLUE VELVET (1986). Trivia: Did y'all know that Woody Allen thought this was the best picture of its year and said so when doing press for his Oscar nominations for Hannah and Her Sisters? Correctly guessed by Mikadzuki, JLT/JLT, John T and Nick (Fun wrong guesses: Animal House, Cry Baby, Twin Peaks)

#10 I told you that this image was from a 60s musical but one that was not nominated for Best Picture. It was a tough one given the tablecloth and the movement... so what's underneath that tablecloth...
[cue musical number] "You Two!" It's Dick Van Dyke's towhead motherless moppets in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968) --guessed correctly by no one. (Wrong guesses included: State Fair, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, Sweet Charity, Umbrellas of Cherbourgh, Dancer in the Dark, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Young Girls of Rochefort and The King and I)

CAN YOU NAME THE UNGUESSED MOVIES?

Here are my dozen favorite episodes of this fun journey in screen captures: Bob & Ted * a journey * Judy & Jim * Meerkat * Mirrored / Married * Miss Wang * Movie Making * A Poetry Reading * 'Poor Terry' * A Strange and Extraordinary Person * "Tasty!" * The Whole Bloody Affair ...and shed a teardrop for the only episode that prompted no comments whatsoever "Goodbye to Blueberry Pie"

Seven Links

Cinephilia announces an improptu "mumblecore" blog-a-thon
Cinemavistaramascope I generally hate narration in the cinema but Bemis serves up 10 examples of times when it went right
BoingBoing Alien made out of vegetables!
Awards Daily Daldry (The Hours) reteaming with Kidman for The Reader
ONTD! [NSFW] The Golden Girls go erotic in a curated show. They were pretty frisky on that landmark show
NY Mag re: Superbad. Greg Mattola is not Judd Apatow
BuzzSugar Scarlett Johansson seeking to thwart Cate Blanchett. Both still desperate to beat Jude Law's 2004 "I have a movie opening every week!" record

"She's Back"

If everyone looked as good as Michelle Pfeiffer just 8 months shy of their 50th birthday, nobody would ever complain about getting older. [Nitpickers please note: I realize celebrity shoots are fond of excessive photoshopping but I've seen this particular goddess in real life and the astounding beauty isn't manufactured]

I've had a rough summer so I am enormously grateful for whatever quirky shallow gene I got that allows me to be so instantly cheered and entranced by new pictures of a favorite star and simple two word phrases delivered like manna from heaven in a national magazine


When was the last time two words ever thrilled so?

* I swiped these photos from the great pfan site Gorgeous Pfeiffer which swiped them from Esquire. You should check it out if the summer of Susie Diamond's return has you doing happy dances in your bedroom. Oh come on, admit it. It ain't just me.

For Nick on Sean's Birthday

...there you go you crazy person. Now shush!

As for todays other birthday... I don't care who asks -- I'm not wishing DeMcNiro a happy anything until he remembers that acting is not shameless mugging.
____________sincerely, the (grouchy) film bitch

Now Playing (08/17)

L I M I T E D

The 11th Hour -Leonardo DiCaprio pushes the good green message in this high profile doc
Death at a Funeral -A comedy from Frank Oz. Yes, that Frank Oz. The voice of Miss Piggy and the man behind comedies of incredibly varying quality from 80s gems like The Little Shop of Horrors through misfires like the recent Stepford Wives reimagining
Delirious -from indie filmmaker Tom DiCillo (Johnny Suede, Living in Oblivion) starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Alison Lohman and eternally freakishly sexy Gina Gershon
The King of Kong -A sponsor this week on the sidebar (thank you!) I tried to see this videogame documentary when I was at IIFF but the print didn't arrive and they replaced it with a terrible movie about Star Wars geeks. I had to walk out

W I D E

The Invasion -Nicole Kidman + Daniel Craig + time tested always successful metaphorical horror plot. What could go wrong? RT scores (currently @ 18% ouch) suggest something did but I'll see for myself on account of my love for NK & DC. Plus: We kinda have to see this to compare the duet to round two when the stars reunite for The Golden Compass in December
Last Legion -I always find it baffling when a movie I've never heard of opens wide. It's from the Weinstein Co. So maybe it's 4 years old or something... [/snark]
Superbad -The Year of Judd Apatow And His Travelling Band of Merry Actors and Writers™ continues. Expect this one (produced by Apatow) to continue the critical and audience lovefest that's been going full force since The 40 Year Old Virgin. Now if only the public had been there for Freaks and Geeks back in the day. It's still the best thing Apatow's been involved in

What are you seeing this weekend?

Two Months Till Monty

"Still on your knees, huh Pruitt?"

The Montgomery Clift Blog-a-Thon is two months away (Oct 17th). Get his movies on your Netflix or GreenCine queues (you won't regret it. He's made several fine ones). And remember, if you're contributing an article, let me know and I'll send a reminder as the date nears.

Bruce and "Jack" or is it "Joseph" or...

[src]

Links. Plus TIFF & NYFF Lineups

Defamer Jodie's sapphic riddles continue
Popwatch "In praise of Pacino's hamminess"
Movie Blog a bunch of new Dark Knight photos. Heath & Bale!
<--- Movie Marketing Madness loves the Michael Clayton poster. So do I MMM, so do I.
Guardian asks "Bourne or Bond: who'd win in a fight?" I'm like 'duh, neither!' They're both indestructible. Car crashes, explosions, bullets, whatever... they can't be hurt. I know that Jason Bourne limps through the first few minutes of Ultimatum and Bond sweats his way through a death scare midway through Casino Royale but they were both faking it.

And finally, the full Toronto International Film Festival list by country and the New York Film Festival lineup. I had hoped to do a whole lengthy post on this but I'm afraid my life is more like this lately. Truly... but that's not really discussable on this here blog. More later on these festivals though, which are.

20:07 (Yeah Baby)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie concert
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

You're everywhere I go ____And everybody knows __
______I've paid for you with tears____ And swallowed all my pride

Happy Birthday to the one and only! Now answer these questions 2 in the comments:
1. Your favorite Madonna song?
2. Your favorite movie performance? (oh c'mon they're not all bad)
3. This one is only for the Madonna maniacs among you: Your favorite member of her entourage (past or present)?

Finally just for kicks, if you've never seen Guy Ritchie's Star, part of "The Hire" --those BMW shorts by famous directors --you really must. Clive Owen is the most magnetic chauffeur the movies offer and this particular short is the rare comedic entry in the series. Bonus Points: It's fun for both Madonna lovers and haters. Here it is

Hump Day Hottie: Justin Theroux

I didn't get a chance yesterday to post the weekly DVD roundup but the only absolutely crucial info to know is this: INLAND EMPIRE has arrived. Lynch's bizarre grotty nightmare, which vaguely revolves around an actress on a cursed film shoot, is potent art film stuff.

If you didn't catch it in theaters (and who can blame you really given the sorry state of distribution in this country for fringe films) you'll finally be able to see why Nick thought it was last year's best American film, you'll see why I strayed from Oscar's consensus Best Actress list to include Laura Dern, and you'll see what "the face" (Film Bitch 'Best Scene' nominee) refers to. Though on this last point -- oh hell on all of these points, you might not see at all. Glenn @ Stale Popcorn who recently saw the film still had to ask me which scene I meant. I thought it would be obvious but his question and his guesswork brought other images from the film springing back to life in my mind. Lynch movies are liquid like that, filling up whatever empty space they rush into. It's a weird but unmissable movie ... just like the rest of Lynch's oeuvre.

When I saw INLAND EMPIRE last December @ the IFC center (along w/ The Boyfriend and JA), Lynch regular Justin Theroux was present for a Q&A after the movie. He asked the crowd not to ask him what the movie meant but sure enough... within a couple of questions a hand went up "But what do you think the movie means?" sigh

Nevertheless the actor was highly agreeable even in response to the dumbest questions (somebody actually asked him about his eyebrows) and he was gorgeous in an extremely casual 'I'm just watching the movie with you' kind of way. He spoke honestly about his first and second reactions to the film (different) and likened the film to the non narrative pleasure of music if I recall correctly... though the memory of the night is fuzzy after Laura Dern frightened me with The Face™.


Justin Theroux is, as a hottie, not for everyone. That's OK: more for me. I've always been partial to extremely angular beauties. With Mr. Theroux the angularity doesn't stop with the jawline and cheekbones. It parties with the lively assymetrical eyebrows and then, still restless, shoots straight up into the sharp angles of his hair (it's easy to see why big haired Lynch favors him as a surrogate) and down through the sinewy body. The angles are having too much fun to quit with just the face.

Oh, I almost forgot. Justin played a director in Mulholland Drive and now he's playing one in real life, too. His first film Dedication (starring Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, Tom Wilkinson, Dianne Wiest, Bobby Canavale and Amy Sedaris) opens next week. Here's the trailer.

Suggested viewing: gratituous shots of Theroux @ MNPP * 100 INLAND EMPIRE inspired confused faces from Laura Dern @ FourFour * Lots of news and pics @ Justin Theroux Online Suggested INLAND EMPIRE reads: mainly movies * Muckworld * Slant 2006 Top Ten * IFC Blog *

Glenn "Norma" Close

My passion for the movie musical is a large and consuming love but not an unconditional one. Some musicals shouldn't be made into movies at all. MTV recently dug the topic of the Sunset Blvd movie (you guessed it: that's one of them) out of its shallow grave in an interview with Glenn Close, who's currently in the spotlight again for her TV role in Damages for which she'll be gunning for the 2008 Emmy. And speaking of awards: if Glenn ever wants to get back on the Oscar track, Norma Desmond is probably not the way to go.

Glenn Close, 1985. Photo by Gilles Laraine

The backstory: Andrew Lloyd Webber, once a sure fire big deal on the musical theater stage, adapted the justly legendary 1950 noir Sunset Boulevard in the 90s. The stage production lost money due to repetitive legal battles and star salaries involving various divas signed to play ur diva Norma Desmond. The show was still considered a minor hit, undoubtedly selling a large quantity of tickets on name recognition and one bulls eye proposition: bank on musical theater fans loving a diva. Close won the TONY for Best Actress in the role

It shouldn't be made into a movie. The problems are threefold.

1. It’s not a strong musical. "With One Look" "A Perfect Year" and "It's As If We Never Said Goodbye" ...these could be called highlights within the context of the show but they're rather middling efforts in the larger world of the musical genre. They wouldn't make for thrilling set pieces, would they?
   
2. Billy Wilder’s movie is justly legendary. It’s a 100% bonafide classic. Leave it alone. There are many great stage musicals that have never been films. Hollywood producers ought to be looking at those properties.
   
3. Glenn Close needs to find a new role. Remember in the 80s when Fatal Attraction came as a shock. It's tough to imagine now but she didn’t always play evil or cold goddesses. Her characters did have spine but they weren't always relentlessly dominant brittle and larger-than-life forces. MTV quotes her as saying that she’s ready for the big screen demands of the iconic role that is Norma Desmond. “Oh, man. So ready” she says. I’m sure that she is. She has been rehearsing for it forever. At this point I fear she's over rehearsed. Could there be any spontaneity or surprise in such a performance?
   

It's this last bit that worries me most. What Glenn Close needs to revitalize her film career --what she needs if she's ever going to win an Oscar (a topic we've discussed before) is an about face role. She needs to take an audience by surprise (think Streep's slick and intimidating glam in The Devil Wears Prada or Judi Dench's brittle lesbian in Notes on a Scandal: both showed off new or underused facets of their actresses). When was the last time Close played a warm character? Maybe she ought to be looking for a strong earth mother role, something you might expect to see Susan Sarandon doing. That would put the audience and award bodies on notice.

This fine actress has done the gorgon thing for so long I’m worried that her skills at projecting an interior life will be totally calcified. If Close continues to take these roles, all that might remain is a cool and unyielding surface... a Medusa who turned herself to stone.
*

For further reading on related topics, click the labels below. Also over @ Zoom In I'm doing a theme week on other pre-production films. Check it out.

20:07 (Rachael, a Replicant. She Doesn't Know)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

"Do you mind if I smoke?"_________
_______"It won't affect the test"

Yes Rachael, please smoke. Blade Runner's awesome cinematography (courtesy of Jordan Cronenwerth, RIP) makes the unhealthy act look as glamorous as it did when Bette Davis used to light up with great regularity. On another note: This movie will soon have so many versions I'd imagine that no two viewings would result in the same freeze frame

Two Top Tens: Fall Film Preview

It’s a Doubled "Tuesday Top Ten". I'm so ready for summer to be over. Let's just hop right into these lists... (I've included links to previous or related posts when applicable)

Ten Fall Movies I Can’t Wait To See

Naturally I should say I Could Never Be Your Woman since it stars Michelle Pfeiffer & Paul Rudd...but, even with a new release date (11/something), I still don't believe it'll coming out. I am intrigued by the cast of Rendition (10/19) but the trailer didn't do a lot for me. Then of course there's vampires (you know my feelings there) on the attack in 30 Days of Night (10/19) which I'm curious about given its graphic novel origins and the various clips I've already seen. But not top 10 curious...

10 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (09/21)
I'm tired of hearing about the editing wars and troubled production. I just want to see the damn movie already, OK?! Still love the title no matter what people say. But then I am fond of that Cop Gives Waitress $2 Million Dollar Tip party game where you retitle a movie with a plotty headline and see if anybody can guess the film. Ever played that? [prev. post]

09 Michael Clayton (10/5) The trailer looks good. Tony Gilroy (the writer /director) is hot off contributions to the Bourne franchise and the cast is to die for: Clooney. Wilkinson. Swinton. Even though this movie is from the TV friendly legal thriller genre I don't object. I don't object at all. [more on Clooney or Swinton]

08 The Brave One (09/14) Similarly I don't normally care a whit about vigilante revenge dramas (usually get distracted by their upsetting politics) but the combination of Neil Jordan and Jodie Foster flipped some kind of switch inside me and I have to see it. [more on Jodie Foster]


07 The Savages (12/26) This movie takes place during the holidays but I still think it's a mistake to wait until the last holiday weekend of the year to open a small scrappy dramedy -- especially one with the Oscar potential --but alas I don't control the Fox Searchlight universe. If Laura Linney's whole performance is as expertly calibrated as her comic punches in the trailer, expect fans to go crazy demanding that overdue Oscar. [more on Linney]

06 Margot at the Wedding (11/16) Loved Squid & Whale. A worthy follow up? [prev post]
05 Eastern Promises (09/14) Loved A History of Violence. A worthy follow up?
04 Lust, Caution (09/28) Loved Brokeback Mountain. A worthy follow up? [prev post]

03 His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (12/07) I can't wait to see what Nicole Kidman does with her tricky glamorous role. This novel is excellent but its wrap up is as unwrapped as the finale of the first installment of The Lord of the Rings. The movie is risking instant comparisons with that epic through its genre, its trilogy status and even its marketing campaign. That's an awfully high bar to have to clear as far as expectations go. [related posts]

02 I’m Not There (11/21) Blanchett, Gere, Ledger, Bale and more as Bob Dylan. Finally a biopic with something more than event+event+event on its mind [related posts]

01 Atonement (12/7) That this adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel would be an Oscar smash was an early hunch that I still feel grand about. Now the trailers and buzz suggest it's a great movie too. That is infinitely more important news. [related posts]

Ten Additional Performances / Things I’m Curious About

10 Amy Adams & James Marsden in Enchanted (11/21) Did they use up the only good stuff in the trailer or does this movie hold gleeful silliness from two game actors? [more on Amy & James]

09 Everyone in The Darjeeling Limited (9/29) We all know that director Wes Anderson favors widescreen compositions and excessively detailed production design. What's less commonly discussed is that his ensembles can be magical. How are Brody, Wilson, Schwartzman, and Huston in this?

08 The Critics and In the Valley of Elah (September) This movie from the over rewarded Oscar magnet Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) is already leading to some virtual critical tussles. What will the consensus be? Or will there be none?

07 Dakota Blue Richards (The Golden Compass) vs. Saoirse Ronan (Atonement and I Could Never Be Your Woman) Which young blonde actress will be gunning for Dakota Fanning's throne once reviews and box office response comes in?

06 Everyone in Lions for Lambs (11/09) Could Streep, Redford and Cruise all be as bad as they look in that trailer? Yikes.

05 Kate Winslet in Romance and Cigarettes (09/07) Delayed for a very long time but we'll finally get a look at Kate's fiery singing performance that some people are gaga for. Or will we? I can't quite believe it's going to open [more Winslet]

04 The women of The Golden Age (10/12) According to the trailer, Cate Blanchett will be chewing every prop and costume on set in her new star vehicle, a sequel to her star making role in Elizabeth. The bitchy question that I know you're all asking --OK, well I'm asking it at least --is this: Can Samantha Morton or Abbie Cornish upstage her from the sidelines? [supp. actress Oscar race]

03 Woody Allen, still hot lukewarm from Match Point, releases the similarly dark Cassandra’s Dream (11/30). Will it be another sign that he's regained some creative juice or a wobbly step back? [more on Woody]

02 Gerard Butler in P.S. I Love You (12/21) Can he convince people that he loves Hilary Swank? This Herculean acting feat has only ever been successfully completed by Chlöe Sevigny. She got an Oscar nomination for it. Stay tuned. Developing...

01 Helena Bonham-Carter as Mrs. Lovett and Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd (12/21) *bites fingernails* [related posts]

Ed Limato, Pfeiffer's Longtime Agent, Leaves ICM

Super agent Ed Limato is leaving ICM and taking several big names with him. I usually don't follow this type of industry news (I read it on Hollywood Elsewhere and Nikki Finke has written about it a lot as well) but I always notice Ed Limato's name when it pops up because he repped my my girl Michelle Pfeiffer for many many years [update: she is now repped by Kevin Huvane]

Whether or not its a fair assessment, and it's probably not given their long history together, I've always assigned Limato the dubious distinction (dishonor) of being the man who urged Michelle to move away from her late 80s / early 90s string of sensational and challenging roles in favor of the mainstream dregs that functioned as her mid 90s cash-in. That switch in tactics also killed her Oscar momentum (*sniffle*) I attributed this shift in her career to a comment he made in a Pfeiffer profile in the early 90s regarding Love Field & The Age of Innocence --I think it was in Movieline --in which he said something uncharitable about them, something like 'nobody wants to see her in another wig doing an accent'

I understand that agents like to make money (don't we all) but that's the sort of thing that makes me crazy. There's more to life than money. I love One Fine Day as much as any Pfeiffer nut but in 50 years times when Michelle and many of us are gone from this world, nobody is going to be programming her mid 90s films for a retrospective. It's going to be heavy with those risks she took from 1988 through 1993. From Married to the Mob through The Age of Innocence ...that's where her legacy lives and breathes (despite flashes of genius both before and since) But alas, agents don't get immortalized if their client proves enduring to film history but they do get rich if their client makes disposable hits.

Similar stuff plays out in other careers all the time. You know for instance that Hugh Jackman's reps were probably not thrilled about his long and exuberant commitment to the Broadway show The Boy From Oz. I mean, he could have made three more Van Helsings during that time period (*shudder*). That would've been a quick way to make bank but the Broadway show was better for his career in the long run.

Still it's probably crazy making and extraordinarily difficult to be a superagent juggling massive careers like Denzel's and Michelle's among many others. And to give credit where it's due: as the legend goes Mr. Limato was supposedly instrumental in hooking her up with Scarface (1983) even before he was officially representing her. He knew a good thing when he saw it.

Ethelink Tenenbaum

Self Styled Siren "Scenes From Cinematic Scorekeepers" on the reappraisals of Bergman and how all directors are subject to ebb and flow of critical love
By Ken Levine a fun perceptive review of The Bourne Ultimatum
<--- Coming Soon Angelica Huston is guest-starring on Medium for six episodes. In movies buzz I'm hearing that her role in The Darjeeling Limited is small in screentime but major in plot and impact. I'd love to see her back in the Oscar mix, wouldn't you? And it'd be sweet to see that happen by way of Wes Anderson who keeps casting her. Should I move her up the Supporting Actress Oscar chart?
popbytes Annie Lennox is back
IDLRZ has an interview w/ stage star and film actor Denis O'Hare (Rocket Science, A Mighty Heart)

20:07 (Pirouette)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

"Find a place on that bloody wall and focus on that spot!"
**

That Old New Movie Around the Corner

It seems silly to say something like "The Shop Around the Corner is my new favorite movie of 1940!" on account of ---well, movies from 1940 are not "new" ...but it's true all the same. Even if it's old it's new to me (somehow I hadn't seen it). And besides, Ernst Lubitsch is such a superb director that his movies don't get old even as they age. They're so light on their feet, so keyed into their own sense of humor that they stay young and fresh. new. old. old. new...

'psychologically, I'm very confused. but personally I don't feel bad at all.'

The Shop Around the Corner has got a charming array of supporting players and running gags. The plot spins on shockingly undated notions about the way people both project and believe idealized versions of themselves and strangers when anonymity is a factor. Letters play the major communication role here and it's easy to see why Nora Ephron thought it a natural transfer to the internet age for You've Got Mail (1998). I can't rave enough about Margaret Sullavan and Jimmy Stewart who are both sly and dazzling as the arrogant coworkers who haven't realized they're in love. The eternal romantic comedy notion that instant hate = secret love has never been my favorite cliché but Sullavan and Stewart make it work by serving up fully realized people, both charming and prickly.

There's so much to recommend it I just have to shout "see it!" or "see it again!" as the case may be.

Lunchtime Poll: Showdown

I’m off to watch two A-C-T-O-R-S! (Christian Bale & Russell Crowe) square off in the new James Mangold western 3:10 to Yuma. Which leads me to this question.

poll: Which two actors would you like to see go mano a mano? And with what weapons? Guns, swords, bare hands, etcetera?

Tell all in the comments.

20:07 / 70:02 (Mirrored / Married)

20th minute and 7th second / 70th minute and 2nd second of same movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC


~I still love you
~I'm the luckiest son of a bitch alive


[heavy breathing. grunting]
*

Pfeiffer w/ Letterman. Where Ya Been?

I meant to post this a few weeks back but it's still worth delivering unto you since it's the summer of Pfeiffer's return and Letterman can't really let the subject of that five year break go in this interview. I've edited it down to six minutes so that it's easy for y'all to digest. After that uncomfortable visit with Oprah broke La Pfeiff back into the swing of the press circuit, she's handling herself well (a great actress she is. A great talk show guest...um, usually not so much). But she's so relaxed here that I'm wondering what they slipped her in the green room.

Pfeiffer_letterman
Uploaded by nathanielr

I love that David and Paul can't let the Fabulous Baker Brothers [sic] go either. Funny. I haven't watched Letterman in a long time but this short bit reminds me how good he is at his job, always keep up the pace of the interviews while really listening to the stars and quipping. That's more than some of his competitors can claim.

Michelle's recent Inside the Actors Studio visit is lengthy so I'll see what I can do about bringing you highlights over the next couple of days

I'm Not Link

OK...well maybe I am a little

<--- I Watch Stuff Richard Gere and Heath Ledger as Bob Dylan in I'm Not There. new pics
Guardian Oscar winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton on adapting Atonement to the screen... "an arduous task"
Reverse Shot has an interesting piece up about the disorienting action of The Bourne Ultimatum. I admit that I was thrilled while watching but also readily agree that I had no clue where anybody was at any given time (which usually prevents me from being thrilled, go figure) I enjoyed it more as abstraction but I do hope we don't continue down this road

And finally a new pic nabbed from WG/WB (one of my favorite theater blogs) from the forthcoming Sweeney Todd with Johnny Depp as the demon barber and Helena Bonham Carter as his would be girl and accomplice Mrs. Lovett.


...a project about which I am still enormously nervous. So nervous that I'm not at all giddy though it is easily one of my favorite musicals of all time. And you know that's saying a lot. I'll be attending the tale of Sweeney Todd with nerves in turmoil
*

Mark Strong: Ubiquitous Bad Guy

One of the things that I find interesting as a devout moviegoer is how one particular character actress or actor will begin popping up with great regularity in one type of role. Sometimes it lasts forever: Steven Tobolowsky has been playing that annoying neighbor/coworker/teacher for as long as I can remember. Sometimes they branch out: Brian Cox got unusually famous as a supporting player but he cycles through a few signatures --bad guy, looney authority figure, kind father. He's versatile. But this default casting phenomenon usually lasts for just a couple of years before there's a new face in the roles --remember Robin Bartlett as the sassy acquaintance in the early 90s... no? Well, I do. She traded quips with Meryl Streep as they went through rehab together in Poscards from the Edge. I still notice her popping up in similar roles on televison.

The current go to guy for roles that require an instantly sinister aura is Mark Strong. He's a regular face now. He played one of the heavies in the latest Oliver Twist, he made shady deals with George Clooney in Syriana and this summer he's working two pivotal and flashy evil roles. He's the murderous Prince Septimus in Stardust and the creepy Pinbacker in Sunshine.

Even if you don't already recognize the name you'll know his face very soon. Get this: he's got six (!) movies coming out next year. Who will he terrorize next?

Trailer Madness: Kites, Dolls and Hit and Runs

Is it just my imagination or are the fall trailers coming faster than one can keep up with. Isn't August supposed to be a slow month? You may have seen some of these elsewhere but here they are all collected for your viewing and discussion pleasure



Beowulf emerges from the development waters under the direction of Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) who once made charming 80s films like Romancing the Stone and Who Framed Roger Rabbit and now has a real fetish for stop motion capture. This looks visually arresting but also highly creepy. Exactly how many times can Angelina Jolie look like a plastic videogame character onscreen before she ceases to exist offscreen [sorry. That sounds like the premise of a really bad sci-fi horror film -ed.]? Even creepier is the vision of Robin Wright Penn plasticized... though I couldn't say why exactly. Help me out here in the comments.

Lars and the Real Girl has such a capital Q Quirky premise that one hopes they get the tone exactly right as it plays out in full feature form. In trailer form the premise sits there stubbornly, refusing to be either funny or sad or fascinating or disturbing or, better yet, a collision of multifacted tones. I'm still curious though.



The Kite Runner, based on the well loved novel of the same name, is shepherded to the screen by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Stranger Than Fiction) whose past work has left me cold because it's trying too hard to warm. Plus there's the bothersome schizo feeling that he both overcooks and underdramatizes his topics. Many people have high hopes for this one come Oscar time and it could be very moving indeed. But it might prove a touch alien for AMPAS' full embrace.

Be Kind Rewind is the new comedy from the ingenious clutter happy Michel Gondry (Science of Sleep) . Watching this trailer one understands that the premise (video clerks recreating famous movies in truncated low budget form) is a complete match with the director's goofy hand-made aesthetic. Question: too much of a good thing or just right?



Gone Baby Gone, directed by Ben Affleck, looks like Mystic River redux but two hours rather than two minutes might give it its own identity once it opens. That earlier film played well with Oscar voters but this is a trickier proposition. Though Oscar loves an actor-turned- director, Affleck doesn't demand automatic respect like Clint Eastwood and his lead is his brother Casey Affleck rather than Great Actor Sean Penn (this is not to knock Casey who has obvious talent...just to point out that prestige is a different commodity). Still it's easy to imagine the jostling for supporting honors (Ed Harris? Amy Madigan? Amy Ryan? Morgan Freeman?) if the film is a critical hit.

Reservation Road On this one, I'm torn. Terry George's follow up to Hotel Rwanda might go the distance but it could just as easily be one of those secondary fall films that gets one or two key nominations but not much else (like Little Children?). One thing seems sure from the trailer: it's a story of two fathers (Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo) at odds. My guess is that they're the leads and their wives (Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Connelly) are the supporting characters. We know however that Oscar don't play like that. Oscar Category Fraud is on its way, mark my words.

Delpy Cheats on Hawke. Pfeiffer Completely Rocks. And Other New Releases

L I M I T E D

Dans Paris -Two very 'now' French stars Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) and Louis Garrel (The Dreamers) costar as brothers in this contemporary drama
Chak De India Hindi movie about a women's hockey team
Crossing the Line a doc about an American defector
Cut Sleeve Boys gay partyboy movies never stop do they. Can't remember the last time one was actually good
Descent -Rosario Dawson suffers through an NC-17 rape and seeks revenge. But wait --I thought the MPAA approved of rape? Oh right: This isn't a studio picture... different rules
Rocket Science -A sponsor on the sidebar (thank you!). The trailer makes this look like imitation Wes Anderson but the reviews are good
2 Days in Paris -Julie Delpy romances a scruffy American man in the city of love. The man in question is not Ethan Hawke which is freaking me out. But Delpy directed it, she's charming, and we should all go see it

W I D E

Daddy Day Camp -Cuba Gooding Jr wants you to know that he is still in possession of Edward Norton's Oscar. Or William H Macy's.
Rush Hour 3 -soul crushing = the career of Brett Ratner
Skinwalkers -Lycanthrophy. I hate it when there's an outbreak

<--- Stardust-Michelle Pfeiffer absolutely rocks in this movie. The rest of it is merely rocky. From my review...

"Neil Gaiman, the author of Anansi Boys, Neverwhere and Coraline (among other fine literary gems) is a highly imaginative writer. His dominant genre is fantasy though he’s something of a black sheep in that realm. If you peruse a cross section of fantasy novels, you’ll find that the standard goal is the imitation of JRR Tolkien: fantasy novelists are always busying themselves with the creation of entire foreign worlds complete with their own histories, languages, and sociopolitical structures. Gaiman doesn’t bother with most of that ...or at least not as strenuously. He drops the fantastical -- delicately or forcefully -- into the daily and familiar mundane. Or maybe it's the other way around: there’s more than a little of Alice in Wonderland in the way his adventurers come from our own approximated world but fall down the rabbit hole into another.

In Stardust the role of Alice will be played by Tristan (Charlie Cox)..." Read the Full Review
*

20:07 (Chad)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC


"I'm calling for Christine. My name is Chad... oh you have?! ... thank you ... uh no I wouldn't think of it. No ma'am just tell her everybody is really sorry that she's down ... Yeah, I guess the flu's been going through this place for weeks now ... Ohhhhh ... Awwww. Well, I hope she's up and around soon ... [laughter] Did she get the flowers? ... Oh terrific. ... no, I just took up a little collection. It's no big deal"
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The Link Around the Corner

Do y'all chase these links or am I just wasting me time? Today's recommended reads...

Burbanked great piece on non-verbal exposition in screenwriting, offering up an A+ example: Aliens
Defamer Ed Harris's hissy fit in Heathrow
Hollywood Elsewhere thinks celebrity fans should sell Once to moviegoers. Hmmm.
ModFab Fall Movie Preview
Suzanne Brockmann wins dinner with Joss Whedon
My New Plaid Pants has this series "Thursday Kills" which is rllllly gross but it's also kinda brilliant. I hate it when other bloggers come up with awesome series that I didn't think of first Grrrrrrr. If he weren't my friend, I'd hate him ;)
IFC a list: "50 Greatest Sex Scenes" in the movies. I haven't finished reading it but if Late Marriage isn't on the list I'm going to f***ing freak. I'm already steamed (and not in the good way) it wasn't in the top 10
Times Online Ken Russell's hilarious top ten of all time speech. It makes one yearn to sit in his classroom.

Triple That

A question for those readers who've been kind enough to follow me over to Zoom In. In my themed "Thursday Triple" series (DVD recommendations) I've covered Tricky Dick Nixon, Girls Gone Wild (even though Lindsay is dead to me she is obviously lingering in my brain), Foodies and Musical Comedy among other things. Any suggestions for future groupings?

Brokeback Joker

Since it's only 342 days until The Dark Knight opens in theaters I figured I better start posting about it [ahem]. Much as I hate being a sucker for blockbuster hype, the casting has kept me chomping at the bit to see what Christopher Nolan comes up with on his second go round.

I have total faith in the cast but sometimes being a movie fanatic comes with a heavy price. Most people can probably look at that early still above and see a scary and exciting photo of The Joker threatening a new victim. I've looked at it dozens of times but it keeps messing with my head. I'm seeing a movie that's inbetween a movie or something.

Hump Day Hottie: Anne Hathaway

So many young starlets crash and burn that you have to really treasure the smart and sane ones. Beauty is a given with Young Hollywood, Talent is not altogether uncommon, Brains and Common Sense though... thems rare commodities. Anne Hathaway is only 24 and she's got all of the above.

Here's the best part: she knows it. Rare is the young movie star who can charismatically walk the tightrope of self possession (often required of stars) without coming across as arrogant. Too confident to be unnerved by her fame and too smart to take it for granted, this girl will be in it for the long haul.

I was doing behind the scenes maintenance on the blog a few days back and noticed that I had called Anne Hathaway "pretty" approximately 11 times in the past 7 months and often the adjective was doubled up for emphasis. It's not that I was unaware that I was repeating myself or that I don't own a thesaurus. It's just that... well, when has one word described someone so perfectly...


I'm thinking of Anne today because she's a cool would be salve for my fresh Lindsay Lohan wounds (a talented girl who isn't chucking it all away!) and because Becoming Jane is expanding on Friday (my review) . I was also pleased to read recently that she'll be working with Jonathan Demme. She told Black Film that they're making Dancing With Sheba together. It's a dark comedy about a f***ed up frequently rehab'ing model who attends a wedding.

I recently lamented that Demme the director isn't what he used to be since winning his Oscar for Silence of the Lambs but ...Sheba sounds like the type of thing that might trigger his sorely-missed livelier instincts. I'm crossing my fingers that it does and that Anne benefits from the spark.

As much as I like her as an actress and a star, she still needs to find a great role to help her to the next level of her career. Demme could be the director to hand it to her. Look what he did for the careers of previous leading ladies: Melanie Griffith (Something Wild -Golden Globe nomination), Michelle Pfeiffer (Married the the Mob -first of six consecutive Golden Globe nominations) and Jodie Foster (Silence of the Lambs -the Oscar).

Good luck to them both.

tags: Anne Hathaway

The Linked World

Slant watches David Lynch cook. Honestly why can't all directors go this extra mile for their DVD releases?
MSN's Kim Morgan offers up a "Pfeiffer Top Ten" great writeups of Scarface and White Oleander in particular.
Gallery of the Absurd "Experience the Horror of John Travolta..."
patrakaar2b serves up the Booker list. Despite being called a "nerd" at work because I went to the library on my lunch hour (what is this, junior high?) I have not read these
Siskel & Ebert those were the days
MTV Chuck Pahlaniuk says Kathleen Turner's name out loud. Careful... in this bloggy world that causes misleading headlines and false rumors
The Movie Blog doesn't want to see baby 'Franklin' in the next Fantastic 4 Movie. Neither do I. I'm thinking: who would wish that plight on a child? But I'm also thinking: another FF movie? Dear Lord, no.
Bright Lights this rant about revenge in film makes a lot of assumptions about unseen movies but I still like it

And finally...
EW film critics keep losing at home...
Hollywood Reporter ...but they win overseas. I've often wondered why we can't get a law like this passed in America. Oh, that's right. We worship corporate profits above all else and it's in their best interest if they can control "reviews" of their products.
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But Who Will Play "The Boot"?

Weirdest movie news since Ron Howard thought he was the ideal candidate to remake Caché: Ridley Scott to make a "Monopoly" movie. My thoughts over @ Zoom In

Top Ten: Oscar Nominationless

With the Toronto Festival rapidly approaching, early Oscar buzz will soon be in the air. Time for a list!

One of the most common delusions of fans is "one day [my favorite actor] will be nominated for an Oscar!" The reality is that statistics are against it. Even actors with massive careers (Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Richard Gere, Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey) might go without...even when they manage to get close by either

_____a) snagging Oscar bait roles or
_____b) finding regular precursor attention @ the Golden Globes.

This year we might see long time shutouts like Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tilda Swinton in the mix, but you never know. For today's top ten I'm focusing on names that are even bigger headscratchers. These ten stars --well, I can never quite wrap my head around their absence from Oscar's history book. I've excluded foreign language actors since it's always believable that they'll be snubbed -- sorry Isabelle Huppert. Everyone knows you rule but Oscar is a slow reader and you have cooties (i.e. subtitles)

Movie Stars That Oscar Refuses To Love

10 Christian Bale. He's done everything: wowing as a child star, headlining hits, Oscarbait gimmicks like weight loss and accents. Part of the golden resistance is the kind of movies he's made: too challenging (American Psycho) or small (The Machinist). Given the way his critical and audience cred grows each year, Oscar is starting to look dense.

09 Jeff Daniels. It might be a stretch to call him a "star" but he is nearly as reliable as that other Jeff (Bridges) who also makes superb acting look easy. The other Jeff has four nominations to his name despite the perceived effortlessness. Daniels is always good but he was plain ol' magnificent in The Squid and the Whale (FB Award) and The Purple Rose of Cairo (review) two very difficult and different roles. Yet, Oscar won't acknowledge him. Do they have something against Michiganders.

08 Myrna Loy She's best remembered for her classic stylish "Nora Charles" role in the Thin Man series but in the early days of Oscar they weren't so afraid of comediennes (Carole Lombard, Irene Dunne and others were nominated) so what gives? Even when she worked the ensemble dramas late in her career (Lonelyhearts, Airport 75, From the Terrace) it was always a co-star who was noticed instead. She was denied one of those 'you're really old and we forgot all about you!' sympathy nods that Oscar watchers are so familiar with. They apologized with an honorary Oscar two years before her death.

07 Kim Novak This star shone brightly in the 50s but AMPAS wore blinders. Her biggest Oscar success was undoubtedly Picnic (1955) but she was not among its many nominees. She is one of a long line of actresses who suffered from the 'too beautiful to be taken seriously' fate. Novak didn't do any de-glamming to win kudos, she tested studio patience with an affair with Sammy Davis Jr and --most importantly for the discussion here -- she had the misfortune of giving her greatest performance in Vertigo (58) a movie which was way ahead of its time. It's maddening that her double your pleasure star turn, an entirely bewitching act, was passed over. The snub is even more painful knowing that Deborah Kerr's worst performance (Separate Tables) was in the mix.

06 Dennis Quaid. That disarming grin never fails to charm. The only known defense against it is a membership within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. That'll make you impervious. Quaid has tried against-type critical hoopla (Far From Heaven -FB award), biopic mugging (Great Balls of Fire), comebacks (The Rookie) and working the ensemble in a Best Picture nominee (Traffic, The Right Stuff, Breaking Away) --all tactics which have put the red carpet under the feet of many lessser actors.

05 Marilyn Monroe Kim Novak's problem again: if you're viewed as a trophy you're too pretty to earn one. It took a long time for Monroe's reputation to rise from movie star to fine actor. But decades later her work in Bus Stop, The Misfits and a number of musical comedies more than holds up. Her face has been over merchandized but there's still fresh discovery to be had in watching her actual work. Monroe as an icon is overvalued but Monroe the actor? Still underappreciated if you ask me.

04 Christopher Plummer Plummer has been a revered workaholic actor since the 1950s. He was invited to join AMPAS recently and one imagines that's an apology of sorts. He's been featured in Best Picture winners (Sound of Music, A Beautiful Mind) but even in a year when he won multiple precursor awards within a Best Picture nominee (The Insider) they politely looked away.

03 Steve Martin. This enduring star is currently testing critical patience with insipid family comedies, but that doesn't negate his overall career genius. It's easy to write this one off as "Oscar doesn't like comedy" but that doesn't entirely quell the dissatisfaction. His work in the romantic comedy Roxanne or his dramatic but funny spin in Grand Canyon is on par with your typical Robin Williams acting. And speaking of... that less original funny man has multiple Oscar nods and an actual trophy to show for his work. Injustice! Has he ever been as inspired as Steve Martin was in All of Me?

02 Donald Sutherland. Some stars become legendary through the force of their own charisma (think Julia Roberts) even if the bulk of their actual filmography is not much to envy. Other actors achieve immortality by being in so many great films that their work will be seen forever. Pairing Sutherland's Oscar loved films with the knowledge that he's always passed over is a jaw dropping exercize: MASH, Klute, Don't Look Now, Fellini's Casanova, Ordinary People, JFK, Six Degrees of Separation, Pride & Prejudice ...(whew)

01 Mia Farrow On rare occassions I feel guilty for writing about the movies as in... 'stop reading right now and watch THIS!' I know there are people reading who haven't seen Farrow's haunting work in Rosemary's Baby, her unrecognizable and funny scenery-chewing in Broadway Danny Rose (1984), her perfectly judged star-gazing in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) or her quicksilver moodshifts in Alice (1990) ...and that's just four (four!) great performances off the top of my head. Mia Farrow has led an oft controversial, confrontational and tabloid-friendly personal life ever since her early days of stardom on Frank Sinatra's arm. But here's the thing: Oscar voters should be setting aside prickly personal lives when judging the merits of performance.


Mia's glory days are gone but she was brilliant more than once and has the classic films to show for it. But no honors from the Academy. Making this sting even more: Woody Allen films, which make up about a third of Farrow's filmography, have won many acting nominations and trophies, but Mia was never along for that ride. AMPAS has absurdly mistreated her. She's more than earned an honorary Oscar, don't you think?

Who would you add or subtract from this list? Which omission makes you the most bonkers? [for related posts, chase the labels @ the bottom of zee post]

20:07 (Nebraska)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC


no dialogue. only loud and drunken cheering

Starry Starry Pfeiffer

Guess who finally got their star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame? It's a closely guarded little known secret here at the Film Experience but Nathaniel (c'est moi) is actually a teensy bit of a fan of this woman...


Yes, Michelle Pfeiffer was honored yesterday with a star in Hollywood. It's about f***ing time. Pfans can now make the trek to Hollywood to polish the star, gaze at it in reverence, deem the stars next to it completely unworthy to be in its proximity, and then kneel down to take dozens of cheesy photos with it. (I've just described my next vacation ...don't judge)


Here are some more pix (thanks to Tina for sending me these and MK for thinking of me at the event. I really did intend to go --I haven't been to LA in too long --but the date was shrouded in secrecy until it was too late for poor New Yorkers to figure it out)


I wish I could have been there to cheer from the sidelines but even seeing the photos pfills me with happiness. A well deserved honor I'm sure you'll agree.

If you've stumbled upon this site by a link/search accident and you're still reading, there's more. You can search the Pfeiffer label below for recent postings or catch up on key Pfeiffer articles from the past or just look around --I love other things besides Michelle. Only not quite so much.

Catwoman Top Ten Line Readings
Top 10 "Actresses of the Aughts" she'd be higher but she hasn't worked in five years
Fabulous Baker Boys and the cinematography of Michael Ballhaus
Susie Diamond her post Makin' Whoopee monologue
Catch That Wave gearing up for La Pfeiff's comeback
Michelle Pfeiffer is... (character collage 91-02)
Michelle Pfeiffer is... (character collage 82-90)
Pfeiffer Pforever a Blog-a-Thon (34 participating blogs)
Pfandom rarely updated but trivia, galleries and reviews

tags: Michelle Pfeiffer

Just Back From Stardust...

and I don't think it's much of a spoiler to tell you that within the magical logic of the movie Michelle Pfeiffer (absolutely rocking as an evil sorceress) needs to eat the heart of Claire Danes (a fidgety fallen star) in order to live for hundreds of years. Is it wrong to root for the heart eater? Because... Pfeiffer restored to full power??? Yes please! If Claire Danes really cared about the cinema, she'd carve it out and hand feed Pfeiffer herself. It's the least she can do.
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more later obviously...

Becoming [Insert Name Here]...

If you like those connect-the-dot exercizes between an artist's work and fantasies about their personal lives, have at Becoming Jane. Even if you don't it's fun to gaze with thumping heart at McAvoy & Hathaway (whichever suits your preference... my heart beats for both of these rising stars). But a warning: if you, like me, feel that it's relatively demeaning for an artist's imagination to be explained away as pure biography you might have issues with the movie. It's the type that either turns you off or on at the concept stage.

click to read my review of Becoming Jane

Real life is much more complicated than Stereotypical-Event-A-shaped-everything-about-_____'s life. This is but one of many reasons I have difficulty enjoying the biopic genre. So, yes, I'm biased. I don't like too much explanation --especially when it comes to the creative process. What happened to the magic and the mystery of art? I prefer to think of great creators as highly imaginative people rather than as autobiographers even if their themes, stories and art do spring from the deeply personal.

What's next... Becoming Alfred?

"Becoming Alfred" is the chilling story of a portly director with a ghastly sense of humor. Unable to find true love with a series of nearly idential icy blondes, and plagued with agoraphia and vertigo after narrowly escaping a vicious freak bird attack and a fall from great heights, he holes up in his mother's rickety old home until his death. His last days with his stern mother were shrouded in mystery. Discover the great untold story that inspired his greatest and grisliest works!

Imagine your own Becoming... in the comments. Amuse us.

20:07 (He Played Too Many Notes)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

~Ah Mozart…Why?
~Why what sir?
~Why do I have to be humiliated in front of my guests... by one of my own servants? The more license I allow you, the more you take.
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Day of Rest

Shhhhh! Viggo & Anne are enjoying a lazy post-coital nap. Don't spoil the moment for it's their last together [cue ominous music]

Next @ The Experience: Stardust, Anne Hathaway & Becoming Jane, Michelle Pfeiffer goes 'Inside The Hellmouth Actors Studio', an Oscar list to raise your ire and more... (could we possibly hope for that All That Jazz article? Shut up!)

Actress Psychic (Updates)

For those 100+ souls who joined that early bird Actress Psychic Oscar Contest months ago I've updated the point totals here. (I've also added my personal points in per your requests) There's a 5-way tie for the lead currently but expect much shuffling when the fall films hit. We've barely begun

Since we last spoke in mid June...
+ 3 Nikki Blonsky (Hairpsray opened + box office pts)
+ 2 Angelina (EW small cover inset + b.o), Danes, Streep & Redgrave (Evening opened + b.o. though the movie met horrid reviews so these will probably be the last points)
+ 1 Blethyn, Hathaway, Lopez, Roberts & Marion Cotillard (pts for opening --the first three, EW small cover inset, and box office respectively)

[related reading: Best Actress Oscar Predictions]

Trailer Fourgy: Rendition, Lions, Things and Darjeeling

Time to check in with new trailers. Only a few weeks of hot weather and sequels remain and then we're in the clear, ready to face the onslaught of SERIOUS films aiming for gold.



Rendition (on your left. October 12th) and Lions for Lambs (right. November 9th) are but two of four (?) fall films dealing with our current political quagmire and the misguided unending war (the other pair are the action-heavy The Kingdom and the Paul Haggis thriller In the Valley of Elah) One assumes from the trailers that the four films will have their own individual identities but it's anyone's guess until they're widely seen which will garner Oscar's favor. It's unfair to judge a film based on 2 minutes of heavily edited footage but then, on the other hand, these are how the studios are presenting said films so, you know, judge away.

Rendition looks like it might work. Three separate tracks: terrorist prisons (Gyllenhaal & Metwalley), political chambers (Streep & Arkin) the homsetead (Witherspoon) all lead toward one assumed destination. Cue the grand collision. That the collision involves a weepy screaming wife might spell more Oscar news for Reese but, then again, it might not. [more on the Best Actress race] For it looks like a true ensemble piece. If you lazily compare it to, say, Syriana (hey why not? That's what pre-fall Oscar analysis is all about) you'll be looking at the tortured central figure (played by Omar Metwally who made a big splash on Broadway a few years back) for your acting kudos and not the other players frantically moving their pieces in this tense puzzle. [Supporting Actor race --I'll have to move Metwally way up the chart]

The trailer for Lions for Lambs improves upon the first teaser which looked hideously shoestring as if it were a straight to DVD release. But the improvements are small. It still looks like an unwieldy pendantic machine that luckily fell on top of three massive stars. They're crushed under the weight of the catchphrase ready dialogue. If you ask me this movie looks terrible but Oscar might feel differently. We'll see.




Things We Lost in the Fire (left) is the latest drama from Danish auteur Susanne Bier who won critical acclaim with her first two films and an Oscar nomination in the foreign film category for her last (After the Wedding). From the looks of the trailer Things... is pitched exactly to her strengths: nuanced emotional drama with complicated human relationships. But, that said, I'm not sure I would have as much faith in this project if I wasn't familiar with her work. Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, former winners both, could find themselves back on the red carpet if the reviews are kind. Anyway you slice it it's one of those films that screams "actors film" i.e. even if it's well regarded its limited to just a few categories in awards season.


The last trailer The Darjeeling Limited (right) I've included just for fun. Wes Anderson movies usually come out in December but this one is a September release. Still, no Oscar love-in looks likely. Anderson is just too stylized for mainstream love and the Oscars are a mainstream endeavor no matter how much people pretend otherwise whilst bitching about the voters ignoring the latest blockbusters and comedies. Anyway... Anderson isn't making films to win Oscars so good for him. Darjeeling appears to be bringing us a colorful and tasty buffet of his usual treats: witty familial drama, sad-eyed comedy, and amusing widescreen compositions. Some people might find his visual stylizations too affected and thus predictable at this point but I'm so glad someone is using the full rectangle still when they compose their movies. I also love the dialogue exchange halfway through the trailer

"what's wrong with you?"
"let me think about that"

That strikes me as the perfect question and answer response for people who conjecture about the Oscars all year round (like me) and more importantly the perfect banter for a movie artist who just can't be anything other than what he is, god bless. Can't wait to see this one... though I do hope it transcends its style like The Royal Tenenbaums rather than gets smothered by it like The Life Aquatic.

Your thoughts on any of these four? [More on each Oscar race]

You've Pushed Me to the Link

/Film is boycotting Regal Cinemas. Ticket buyers are not the enemies...even when they make stupid decisions.
By Ken Levine a TV writer names his favorite comedic screenplays. Great choices.
NewNowNext Scarjo is in Louisiana and in the studio recording her first album
Anne Thompson on the already controversial animation race for this year's Oscars. Is Beowulf animated?
Evening Class on Edith Head, the eight time Oscar-winning costume designer

today's must see: Women in Film - 80 blended portraits. It's quite the hypnotic video [src]

Unremakeable. That's What You Are

Two days ago I pointed you to Windmill's "31 Days of Spielberg" festivities. Here's another interesting ongoing project to keep an eye on (though I'm not sure how long term this one is): This Distracted Globe is currently (re)cycling through remakes and has already covered Insomnia, The Truth About Charlie, Red Dragon and King Kong among others...

Don’t remake good movies. Remake bad ones
-John Huston

Questions in Need of Comments:
Which sloppy seconds movie do you love most?
If you agree that bad films should be reworked, what terrible movie do you hope to see reborn in a new body?

Now Playing (08/03)

L I M I T E D
Becoming Jane Pretty princess Anne Hathaway plays the author Jane Austen. James McAvoy circles her lustfully. More on this movie very soon
<--- If I Didn't Care Roy Scheider! Where he been? For those of you who've wondered (I know I have but maybe that's because I've had All That Jazz on loop this month) he's in this indie thriller set in the Hamptons. It's calling itself 'Hitchcockian.' If I had a dime for every thriller that billed itself that way...
The Ten Fans of Wet Hot American Summer (I'm proud to say I saw it when it first hit theaters and laughed heartily --I didn't need to wait for the cult to erupt) take note: David Wain has a new movie. This comedy takes on the ten commandments in individual segments. A fun cast is on board: Gretchen Mol, Justin Theroux, Winona Ryder,

W I D E
The Bourne Ultimatum Matt is back and on the attack in this reliably strong action franchise. Early buzz is hysteric. Will it be the biggest Bourne or will sequel fatigue settle in? Summer 2007 box office receipts says there's no such thing
Bratz Teen girl movies can be gobsmackingly awesome (See Mean Girls. In fact: see it over and over again) but this one looks like the genre's nadir
El Cantante I feel like JLo and hubby have been making this movie for the past two hundred years. Is she over as a movie star?
Hot Rod A comedy that remembers to wrap up before the 90 minute mark. I already love it for its brevity
Underdog I'm more of a cat person

Happy Birthday to My Dear Friend

Today is the birthday of one of my nearest and dearest friends. You might know him from the comments as "Kristoferrobbin" so in honor of the first person with whom I regularly and obsessively consumed pop culture, a collage of ten of his favorite movie things:


Our tastes have diverged from the day we met in high school --he likes to needle me about that -- but we'll always have Olivia Newton-John. She brought us together (!true story!) in the mid 80s (just as her career was about to flame out *sniffle*). You have to believe she is magic.

Has a pop culture moment or a particular shared movie love delivered an enduring friendship to you? And do your friends share your movie tastes? It's apparently all about sharing today. You know what to do...

20:07 (The Chosen One)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie tv show
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC

Prepare me for what? For getting kicked out of school? For losing all of my friends? For having to spend all of my time fighting for my life and never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them?

Go ahead. Prepare me.

I figured I should continue the "chosen one" theme from last night's Potter post. It's lonely being the only person who can save the world! Buffy's already figured that out in her very first episode "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

Tossing Hexes Whilst Trying to Deflect Jinxes

I have successfully avoided being sucked into Harry Potter fandom for many years now...but my resolve has been wavering. Before my fellow Muggles cry out in despair that they've lost another nonconformist warrior to Pottermania, take heart: I am still deflecting the bulk of those dark possession-minded curses aimed in my direction. I am, however, more interested in this franchise/phenomenon than I was before and for this I blame four people:

Susan. For it was she who dragged me to Order of the Phoenix and then read Deathly Hallows beside me on the beach as I attempted to read something heavier --well, 'heavier' in the higher brow sense, not as in weight. Those Potter books are huge. Susan had the nerve to enjoy her book more than I enjoyed mine.

Alfonso Cuarón. For it was he who managed to make the first (and still best) Potter adaptation, The Prisoner of Azkaban. It felt like an actual honest-to-God movie after two dull books-on-celluloid jobs. He's a powerful wizard.

Imelda Staunton. For she was Vera Drake and now she is Dolores Umbridge who cursed me to incessantly think about pink

Myself. For it was I who got jealous of Susan's Hallows enthusiasm and picked up a copy of Half Blood Prince to read at the beach the following weekened (I figured starting there I'd pick up where I left off cinematically. I'd read Sorceror's Stone and Chamber of Secrets years ago but gave up on the series when Christopher Columbus finished boring me to tears)

So here we are now. The Potter maniacs are finished reading Deathly Hallows and I've finished reading Half Blood Prince. And, you know, I'll just say it: it was a pretty good yarn. I still feel that Rowling isn't that great of a writer but I do give her props for imagination and plotting --she sure can sustain a narrative. I'll never be completely won over because good vs. evil dynamics without gray areas bore me (Slytherin people are evil. Gryffindor people are good. Got it years ago. zzzz) and what's more --sorry Baby Jesus & Buffy-- stories where only one person "the chosen one" can save us all (The Matrix, Highlander, a lot of sci-fi/fantasy stories) usually irritate me. I guess I'm more of an ensemble man. I've never understood exactly why people love "chosen one" stories so much nor why so few writers dare to color outside those lines. It feels dehumanizing to me when you know that every character but one in any given narrative is expendable. Why place all the eggs in one basket?

One tangential thing that's bugging me about Order of the Phoenix: Why does everyone find that final magical battle so thrilling? I keep reading how wondrous it is. To me it was like an upscale version of magic throwdowns from cheap B movies like The Covenant. CG balls and rays of light just don't excite me all that much. Isn't there a more interesting way to film witchcraft? I expect the finale of Half Blood Prince will be similarly colorful yet physically vague with no real sense of danger. That's a shame. [see Lord of the Rings for an example of how to mix magic into battles where every blow stings and every spell hits like a thunderbolt]

Despite my wobbly nonconversion, I'm looking forward to the next Harry Potter movie (there's a first time for everything) though I'm disappointed that creepy/giggly Helena Bonham-Carter will continue to have a miniscule role as Bellatrix LeStrange (like Voldemort she's more talked about than truly involved). Maybe the expanded roles for Alan Rickman as Snape and Michael Gambon as Dumbledore will help it along. I'm also wary of how Half Blood Prince will transfer since it's so frequently interrupted with Voldemort's backstory... it could get very Hannibal Rising up in there, you know?

Feel free to share your Potter conversion OR resistance stories in the comments. And if you know of any great genre stories that ignore that hoary neo-christian salvation myth "chosen one" angle altogether, please recommend them in the comments.

20:07 (Judy & Jim)

screenshots from the 20th minute and 7th second of a movie
I can't guarantee the same results at home (different players/timing) I use a VLC


"Do you wanna carry my books?"

Inappropriate Hump Day Hotness: 300, Gay Panic and Rodrigo Santoro

Those of you who loved 300 (now out on DVD) are like the depicted Persian army: legion. As someone who (nearly) hated the movie, I'm placed in the odd position of well... being on the audience favored side: a member of the miniscule Spartan army. Like those weirdly glorified losers I find myself martyred for a cause. Well, mine is more of a belief really.

That belief: this movie is stoopid.

I saw 300 a few weeks after it exploded with audiences because I was waiting to catch it on iMax. [I'll readily admit that this delay in viewing is problematic --ever noticed how movies everyone loves are usually greeted a month or two later with a rash of "it ain't all that!" pontificating... are these sincere reactions or very human balance corrective responses --overemphatic objection? Perhaps we should discuss in another post -ed. ] I spent most of the movie trying not to laugh. To this movie lover it played like self parody only without jokes. Unless you count that recurrrent gay panic gag but that got old fast: repeated scenes of drooling muscle worship mixed with demonization of the stereotypically feminine in men. The movie reminded me of those M4M personal ads that used to irk me and my activist friends in college: "straight acting: no femmes!"

So as a surprise counterattack to all that 'all-man!' fetishizing that's going on in Zach Snyder's strange movie, I thought I should drool on the demonized drag queen Xerxes also known as Rodrigo Santoro instead of the other one, King Leonidas played by Gerard Butler. (Last time I tried to make him a hottie, it didn't go so well).

Anyway... this movie bugs. 300 wants you to lick Butler's bulging muscles but it wants you to be grossed out knowing that Xerxes wants Butler to lick his.

Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto...


Both Butler and Santoro are exceedingly attractive men in real life and in their reel lives here. Look, you can put Rodrigo Santoro under several pounds of flamboyant jewelry and makeup. You can press on the false lashes and nails but he's still Rodrigo Santoro.

And Rodrigo Santoro looks like this...


Of course that's a shot from Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle rather than 300 but the former movie is more fun ... or at least it's more honest about how badly it wants Rodrigo Santoro. It even gives you the type of cheesysleazy camera work usually reserved for ogling actress goodies...


If this same shot were used on Scarlett Johansson, it might win its DP an Oscar nod.

I don't watch Lost but I understand that today's sex object has blessed that television serial with his hotness too. Apart from RS's strange willingness to do questionably negative drag roles (see also Carandiru --which I haven't: thus the word questionably) I generally like him. I dig the way he ignores Cameron Diaz' crude innuendo in Charlies Angels (c'mon Cameron, wise up! He's too pretty to understand words). I liked the way he ran sweaty and frantic through Behind the Sun.

But you know what makes me love him most? The Lovely Laura Linney's reaction to snogging him in the romantic comedy Love, Actually.


If you make Laura Linney that giddy, you're all right by me.
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All That Link

CinemaTech has an interview with Mark Stern about a new innovative form of theatrical exhibition, boutique cinema / private yet public screening experiences.
<---Windmills of My Mind begins its "31 Days of Spielberg" marathon. Y'all know I'm not a Spielberg disciple but I admire massive blog/writing projects so hats off --good luck to Damian with this. I'm sure many Spielberg true believers will enjoy. I remain a heathen.
Sunset Gun urges people to root for LiLo still... I appreciate the sentiment and share the belief (the one about the talent) but I'm just too raw to go there now. I have to give up for my own sanity
JLT/JLT names 100 Favorite Performances of the Aughts
And the Winner Is... is among the first to see 3:10 to Yuma
Hollywood Chicago Focus Features Four @ TIFF. If my favorite studio doesn't have a good Oscar year it'll be a surprise.
Flickhead images from the new Chabrol starring Benoit Magimel (yum) and Ludivine Sagnier (yummier)