All the Singular Ladies

Adam of Club Silencio here. If Kathryn Bigelow is said to be the "Queen of Directors," what other female auteurs make up her court and competition? Most excitingly, what's on the radar for these savvy women who're still holding supreme reign in our male-dominated cinematic monarchy?

Julie Delpy

Her Last: 2009's The Countess, Delpy's historical take on evil Hungarian Erzebet Bathory and her virgin bloodbaths, has yet to find a proper US release. Delpy produced, wrote, directed, scored and starred in the project.

Her Latest: IONcinema reports that Delpy's readied a script for 2 Days in New York, a sequel to her 2007 ode to neurotic indie love, 2 Days in Paris. French farce once again follows Delpy as she follows Adam Goldberg to New York, dumps him, and finds herself a new neurotic American.

Nicole Holofcener

Her Last: 2006's smart ensemble comedy Friends with Money continued with female bonds and collaborations with Catherine Keener. Holofcener also continued partnership with HBO (her resume includes TV classics Sex and the City and Six Feet Under), directing an episode for the first season of Bored to Death.

Her Latest: Premiering at Sundance to rave reviews, Please Give once again stars Catherine Keener (as well as Oliver Platt and Amanda Peet) in a story of antique dealers eyeing an elderly neighbor's apartment.

Kelly Reichardt

Her Last: 2008's Wendy and Lucy had Michelle Williams playing a truly dire game of fetch with her lost dog, Lucy, her life's only companion.

Her Latest: Meek's Cutoff again teams Reichardt with Michelle Williams for this period western surrounding a family and the treacherous crossing of the Cascade Mountains in 1845 under the guidance of Stephen Meek, a hired guide. The film also stars Paul Dano and Shirley Henderson. It's currently in post-production.

Lynne Ramsay

Her Last: 2002's masterful Movern Callar followed Samantha Morten's titular character as she mourned a lost lover. Ramsay was also at one time attached to direct The Lovely Bones (a thought we all should mourn like a lost love).

Her Latest: We Need to Talk About Kevin, her long awaited follow up, is an adaptation of Lionel Shriver's novel about a boy's killing spree before his sixteenth birthday and the emotional aftermath felt by his mother. Tilda Swinton stars as the mother, tentatively alongside fellow indie fave John C. Reilly.

Sofia Coppola

Her Last: 2006's undervalued punk period-piece Marie Antoinette spun a fresh take on a child (Kirsten Dunst) thrust into luxury and the pantheon of historical villains.

Her Latest: Somewhere follows a troubled A-list actor (Stephen Dorff) wasting away in LA's famous Chateau Marmont, who's rattled by a visit from his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning). Phoenix (Coppola's hubby is the lead singer) is scoring the film.

Other female auteur faves like Jane Campion (Bright Star), Catherine Breillat (Bluebeard), Lucile Hadzihalilovic (Innocence) and Claire Denis (White Material, 35 Shots of Rum) have no projects currently listed in production. Which singular lady's work are you most excited for?

Full Moon: Julie Delpy, Parisian Animal

As the decade winds down, vampires have finally begun to reclaim their monster movie throne back from the zombies who ruled for most of the Aughts. When will it ever be the lycanthropes turn? I suppose it doesn't help that werewolves aren't as metaphor-flexible as erotic bloodsuckers or mindless hungry drones. To complicate matters, the metaphors those wolves are arguably best suited for are the ones they almost never touch on (puberty and/or menstrual cycles) since they're usually about adult men. The other rich thematic playground they inhabit, that of mankind conquered by his beastly urges, they have to share with all the other monsters. They're a stepchild monster.

But what can you do? As we wait for The Wolf Man to arrive (February 12th, 2010), I thought we'd celebrate the sexy beasts during the full moon each month.

Julie Delpy as "Serafine" in An American Werewolf in Paris

Embarrassing confession: I used to dislike Julie Delpy. I first saw her in Europa Europa (which I loved at the time) but my next Delpy experience was Three Colors: White which I didn't understand. I consequently shrugged it off as a stumble between the emotionally exquisite Blue and the intellectually thrilling Red. I know I should revisit it now that I'm older. So, get this, I skipped Before Sunrise because I wasn't impressed with her. I didn't see it until 2004. How sick is that?

My third Delpy rendezvous was An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) which didn't help her cause. We first spot the French beauty crying atop the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, it's that kind of movie. She's suicidal and leaps from the architectural "We're in France!" shorthand. But, you know, who am I to judge? It's not like leaping into movies you've already seen and hated for blog fodder isn't masochism, suicide's timid cousin. The French girl leaps but the American in Paris (Tom Everett Scott) saves her from herself with the help of absurd special effects and some fake looking rope. How can rope look fake? It's not like the real stuff is made of gold brick. Prop department, hello?

Soon Tom Everett is involved in all sorts of awkward attempts to win Julie's heart while he and his co-stars indulge in thickheaded fratboy humor. [Tangent! This movie was born in that split second when Hollywood though Tom Everett Scott might happen. The second that immediately followed That Thing You Do! Turns out he's a good fit for television. Have you seen him on Southland?] Scott is shamelessly bad in the movie (on purpose?) but I still kind of love looking at him. I blame the huge puppy eyes and sloppy stung lips.

But back on topic. As with most romantic monster movies, the animalistic side of the supernatural human (Delpy) excites the regular human (Scott) ... even if the human can't quite put his finger on what is so unusual about their object of lust. Scott's dumb American doesn't read the signs even when Delpy starts growling. The plot is the plot and I shan't relay but she saves him from a certain massacre by other werewolves and just in the nick of time. It's a full moon and she's a beastie herself. We see the transformation. Cue requisite yellow contacts.

Werewolf Julie. It's a look.

It's a look. But, it's not a flattering look for the Gallic lovely. Delpy's transformation is accompanied by shirt ripping. Her breasts burst out... Unfortunately for those with the prurient interests that this juvenile movie encourages, the boobies appear to be created by computer technicians rather than the benevolent diety that sculpted the rest of Julie Delpy. So you get boobies but there's more than two of them... just like a dog, get it? And they're hairy. In a stronger movie, this might have been a good sick joke, teasing the horndog audience and punishing them at the same time. But it's over in a flash and the next time we see Delpy she's naked and generous with her body. She's nursing Scott back to health with sex, which kind of defeats the earlier 'be careful what you wish for' hairy bitch joke.

You can touch Julie Delpy's boobs, but then you have to drink
her Human Organ Frappucino. It's a trade-off

poll by twiigs.com

See Delpy knows her dumb stud is becoming a werewolf, too. Lycanthropy is always super contagious in movies. One little scratch and you're howling at the moon monthly for the rest of your days.

Scott doesn't believe her lycanthrope tale but soon he's sniffing out another girl, eating raw meat and howling and growling as he mounts his one night stand. She screams "You're hot" while his body starts to steam, getting ready for the "change". Yeah, it's that kind of movie.

If this sudden inexplicable post about a movie no one remembers reads a little juvenile, please let me blame the movie. The 1997 horror comedy is so dumb and horny that by the end when Scott is fighting an evil werewolf in a subway, I was reading dumb sex jokes into everything.


"Insert" your own punchline here.
*

Signatures: Julie Delpy

Adam of Club Silencio here with another look at my favorite actresses and their distinguishing claims to fame.

Julie Delpy is like an exquisite tour guide. A radiant vision in white and a warm companion on a train to Vienna. It's hard not to imagine falling in love with her instantly while shopping for records, spending strolls through cemeteries and gardens lost in her pondering splendor, tingling with anticipation for impending reunions, and melting to her mesmerizing "Waltz for a Night." For all that extensive walking and talking with this unique Parisian beauty, somehow she never gets lost in translation. Julie's gifts are fluent to acting, writing, directing, music and European tourism. She teaches the sights, the sounds, and surely by the end, "Baby, you are gonna miss that plane." But we wouldn't have it any other way.


Her turn as Celine in Richard Linklater's ode to passions and idealized encounters is a trip worth taking not once, not twice, but thrice. So enthralled by her ability to be knowledgeable, funny, noble and neurotic, Linklater gave Julie the showcase she deserves, and by Before Sunset, he couldn't resist letting Julie put words into Celine's mouth; a character she lives and breathes so flawlessly even in the smoke of small Paris cafés. Writing her part, acting her part, singing her part... as we take this nine year reunion tour with Jesse and Celine, it's a veritable sightseeing of Julie's own passions. She better make it a rule from now on: never fall in love with your tour guide.


But so impressive it was that we decided to stay for another 2 Days in Paris. And while this trip went less smoothly than last, Julie's tour was just as thoughtful, and this time she was in complete control. Taking the directorial reigns, writing once again, composing an offbeat score - she continues to venture out on her own and see things in a new way. So much so she's in the midst of a trip back to 17th-century Hungary. There's no doubt her travelogue will be vivid and rich with detail, beautifully constructed and told with her own unique voice. There's something worth seeing on all sides of the camera - and they're all named Julie Delpy.

Pfeiffer Hits Berlin

Director Stephen Frears attends to his star La Pfeiffer.
"It's gonna be a hot time in the cold town tonight"

Abundant photos are starting to show up online now that the Chéri team have arrived in Berlin, held their press conference and early buzz is spreading. Here's The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt with what sounds like pre-review thoughts beginning to tumble out. A bit on Michelle Pfeiffer being "radiant" and a lot of "wonderfuls" about her performance and the picture itself. There's even a little aside for Julie Delpy's vampiric period piece The Countess, too. The most intriguing barely expressed note is that Chéri wasn't as much like Dangerous Liaisons (the other Frears/Pfeiffer collaboration) as one might expect.



Recommendation: Pfeiffer the Face is doing a great job keeping up with new promotional photos of TFE's #1 girl so check that site out.

Update: There's a mixed SPOILER-HEAVY review at Screen Daily but I wouldn't suggest reading it unless you've already read the book. Why do so many reviewers feel the need to describe everything? And uh-oh a negative review at Variety which is not pleased with Pfeiffer's performance but suggests that Kathy Bates will win fans as Madame Peloux.

For previous posts about Chéri: actors, plot, images, Oscar buzz please click the labels below.
*

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 Twins (Sunrise, Sunset)

Twins - "20:07" Gemini Edition June 11th to June 20th
Twin screengrabs from the 20th minute and 7th second of related movies
(Thanks to Nick for the images and text grabbing)

Jesse (Ethan Hawke): Describe for me your first sexual feelings towards a person

Jesse: What brought you back here?

Celine (Julie Delpy): I'd finished my masters, for one. And no visa, no more visa. Anyway, I was starting to get paranoid about all the violence in the media. Gang violence, murders, especially serial killers.

But the final straw was, one night I heard some noise on my fire escape, so I called 911, and the cops came eventually...

Jesse: ...yeah, like three hours later...

Celine: Yeah, after I had been raped and killed about ten times...

(Jesse laughs and basks in her glow)

People Will Talk

Cinematical Julie Delpy may bathe in blood for a new vampire flick
Coming Soon Rupert Everett is claiming Michelle Pfeiffer's Stardust performance is her best ever. I had no idea he had never seen The Fabulous Baker Boys, White Oleander, or Batman Returns among others... who knew?
Towleroad Apparently neither the rumored Johnny Depp nor Sacha Baron Cohen will play Freddie Mercury in the proposed biopic
QueerSighted pays tribute to activist actor John Glover and an 80s TV milestone An Early Frost
Defamer on Michelle 'I love penis!' Rodriguez' clumsy outting denials
ModFab predicts the TONY nominations in the half we get most excited about: the musicals. I'm rooting for Grey Gardens currently