Link•E

Go Fug Yourself this post on Twilight is bound to become a future classic. lol.
Pop Matters Matt looks at the moral ambiguities of The Reader
The Film Experience some updates to the compiling of interesting top ten lists
Aint It Cool has an interview with Michael Sheen of Frost / Nixon
Thompson on Hollywood "Why Australia is a Dud". Good piece on box office/budgets


Planet Fabulon has risen from the dead! Wheeee
The Guardian Nina Foch RIP. How great was she in Executive Suite (1954)? So great
The New Yorker revisiting Revolutionary Road (the novel)
YeinJee's Asian Journal Rain is so shameless. He's now released a bare chested dance rehearsal
The Bad and Ugly on Jim Carrey in the I Love You Phillip Morris trailer
StinkyLulu and his pals take on Supporting Actress 1969. Great choice for winner

And a few for WALL•E...
Scanners I love this "scary parts" post. Don't we all feel empathy for pixels? ...so long as they're in Pixar movie, that is
Movie City Indie How cute! It's WALL•E bento. Although I couldn't find the original source post @ the Bento Factory. [sniffle]
YouTube a request to the Academy to take the animated film seriously
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X-Files Winners

Thanks to all who entered the X-Files: I Want to Believe contest. The following four readers have won in the random drawing. Here are their "I want to believe" statements.

"I Want to Believe...

• ... I wasn't the only one watching The Lone Gunmen spinoff." [Christopher in New Jersey]
  
• ...Michelle Pfeiffer will win the Oscar in 2010." [Tom in Minnesota]
• ...that a third movie is a possibility." [Carmen in New York]
• ...that I'll be making great movies someday. (that's movie related, right?)" [Julienne in the Philippines]
  

Streep Conquers DC

"Come See the Ninth Wonder of the World!"

Meryl Streep, at the spry age of 59, continued her quest to completely conquer the world this weekend with her first Best Actress win of the Oscar Precursor season. It seems Doubtful (hardy-har-har) that she'll be able to scale the heighths of a near precursor sweep --the NBR already raised their glasses to Anne Hathaway "l'chai-im!" But we'll see.

The Washington DC Film Critics Awards go like so...

Picture & Director: Slumdog Millionaire (which they hilariously refer to as an "underdog" in their press release. How long can that film and the media supporting it pretend it's the underdog? That's a sincere question. Answer it.)
Actress (& Ensemble): Doubt. (That's the second ensemble prize for Doubt. God, I hope this isn't going to be a super boring season. Come on other groups. Mix it up. There's lots of fine ensembles... I'll give you some examples: The Class, Rachel Getting Married, Milk, Happy-Go-Lucky, The Dark Knight, Synecdoche New York... see how easy that was. I didn't even need to reference any list)
Actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Supporting Actress & Best Original Screenplay: Rosemarie DeWitt and Jenny Lumet both for Rachel Getting Married... hey, I interviewed them
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

their full list of awards here...

Personal Canon #74: Meet Me In St. Louis

This post is for my musical of the month party as well as the latest in my Personal Canon (100 favorite films). It's one of two entries in the countdown for Judy Garland, one of my top ten favorite actresses of all time

It's Summer 1903 in Missouri and the Smith family are buzzing about the World's Fair coming to their town the following spring. Teenage daughters Rose (Lucille Bremer) and Esther (Judy Garland) are dreaming about proposals from handsome men, the eldest son Lonnie (Henry H Daniels Jr) is off to college and the father Lon (Leon Ames), a junior partner at a law firm, is about to tell the family that they're all relocating to New York Ci -- oh, but let's stop there. For any plot summary of Meet Me in St. Louis does the movie a great disservice. This classic musical isn't plot driven at all so much as a series of three seasonal vignettes of family life: Summer, Autumn and Winter with the following Spring in 1904 serving as a coda. Almost all of what might be called "plot" in Meet Me In St. Louis is imagined. That is to say, that the story drivers are all in the future. One day the family will move to New York. One day Rose, Lonnie, and Esther will be married. One day St. Louis will catch the attention of the nation. In essence the movie is a lovingly rendered still life of a family (and town) on the brink of great changes rather than an animated portrait of the changes themselves.

St. Louis begins smartly in the kitchen, the heart of any home. Mrs. Anna Smith (Mary Astor) and her maid and cook Katie (Marjorie Main) are preparing ketchup. Katie thinks it's too sweet, Anna thinks her husband will like it that way. Various members of the cast scoot through the kitchen sharing their opinions, too. They can't seem to agree on the flavor: too sweet? too sour? too spicy? too watery? Vincente Minnelli the real gourmet cook in the director's chair doesn't have the same problem. He gets everything right.

READ THE REST...

All Personal Canon articles
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Now Playing: Nixon Interviewed, Milk Assassinated

Several new films in the marketplace and one week old Best Picture Nominee to be that's significantly expanding (in ascending order of screen count). Links go to trailers

<---Ciao I really meant to write about this rather unusual gay film which is about the hesitant meeting between a grieving man and his late best friend's would be lover. Damn. Perhaps tomorrow I'll buckle down, stop blogging and start churning out reviews proper. Hey, stop snickering out there at your computer.

Let Them Chirp Awhile an indie relationship comedy about 20somethings in NYC

Frost / Nixon Ron Howard hits a middlebrow bulls-eye of a sort. I think the subject matter and source material, a compressed look at David Frost's historic 1970s television interview with disgraced ex-president 'tricky Dick' is straightforward enough that it's hard to mess up. Entertaining if not particularly resonant... I probably wouldn't even include that modifier but for the abundant Oscar nominations it will soon receive, thereby giving it a lasting place in history which is, you know, overdoing it a little a lot. [geez, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. -ed.]

Black Balloon An Aussie film which Glenn @ Stale Popcorn has been covering a bit about a teenager with a mentally disable brother whose family has relocated. With Toni Collette, Rhys Wakefield and Gemma Ward.

Milk Another one I keep meaning to write about. You know what it's about. Is it in your city yet? If not probably next week when it expands again.


Cadillac Records Beyoncé plays/sings Etta James in this musical set in 1950s Chicago. I hear it's TV movie ish but hopefully the music alone makes a ticket worthwhile. Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright and Gabrielle Union.

Nobel Son A kidnapping comedy/thriller with an all star cast which happens to be the sophomore effort from Bottle Shock director Randall Miller. Starring Alan Rickman, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pullman, Shawn Hatosy, and Danny DeVito. But can we talk for a minute about Bryan Greenberg (the kidnapee) ...first he gets to bed Uma Thurman in Prime and now he gets nookie from Eliza Dushku? What did he do to deserve this?

Punisher: War Zone Ray Stevenson takes over for Thomas Jane in the role of the vengeful antihero. Will people care? I mean... more than they did the first time?

How is/was your weekend?
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Meet Me In St. Louis

It's time for the "Musical of the Month" celebration. This month it's the Vincent Minelli/Judy Garland holiday spectacular Meet Me St. Louis (1944). Unfortunately something came up on my end so my article --incidentally another addition to my personal canon project-- won't be ready until tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime enjoy these Meet Me in St. Louis pieces from other MotM participants. I'll add more links if any come in...

• Gratuitous Violins sees this holiday classic for the first time and shares her thoughts (and a first name "Esther" with Judy's character. How nifty)
• Here and There and Everywhere CrazyCris loves Garland. What's not to love?
• Movies Kick Ass looks into the blossoming romance of Garland & Minelli behind the scenes. That led to Liza Minelli, so it's more than just a movie. It's an event.
  

Clang!Clang!Clang! Went the trolley...

Previous Musicals of the Month:
Velvet Goldmine, Cabin in the Sky, Little Shop of Horrors and Calamity Jane

Oscar Predictions? Not Again!

I've decided that updating Oscar predictions immediately prior to the week of abundant critics awards and Globe mania is foolish. So I'm not going to revise until December 13th. Normally I would do it because when it comes to awards season, I am something of a masochist. I always want it even when it hurts.

• If awards season was an empty pool, I would dive in anyway.
• If awards season was a vampire, I would eschew turtlenecks and garlic and crosses.
• If awards season was a slasher flick, I would follow trails of blood into dark rooms asking "who's there?"
• If awards season was a stack of sugary sweets and I were diabetic, I would...

Well you get the picture. I would venture to guess that most mentally balanced people are interested in the Oscars only when films or performers they love are in play. Not me. I care about the whole even when I don't care a whit about the parts... which is probably going to be the case this year. Almost every film likely to be left standing on nomination morning is a somewhat underwhelming experience (for me) -- hence so many "B"s in my grades.

Benjamin Button -a true technical marvel but (for me) not an emotional bullseye
Slumdog Millionaire -exciting to watch but not (for me) all that interesting
Revolutionary Road -very handsome and well acted but (for me) a little too "easy" Ooh, repressed people in pristine suburbia in the 1950s. You don't say! When it comes to stories about homogenized repression I much prefer these stories told with either abundant layers and subtlety (Mad Men) or great stylization (Far From Heaven) on account of it's been done hundreds of times before. That said, Leo & Kate are smashing (and not just each other's self-esteem)
Frost/Nixon -entertaining and well acted but also lacks a certain heft... is this because I am too young to bring anything to the table that's not there in the movie? I rarely get to say that I'm "too young" anymore so I enjoyed typing that last sentence quite a lot. Mmmm, yes I did.
Doubt -a great(ish) play but definitely not a great movie... too much overkill in the telling: tilted cameras, thunderclaps, you name it... tricks! tricks! tricks! Calm down Mr. Shanley, your actors know what they're doing)

If you've been reading you'll know that I'm rooting for Milk which will make it and also a bunch of movies that probably won't even if I suspect they'll have pockets of devoted fandom within the AMPAS voting body: WALL•E, Rachel Getting Married and The Wrestler. I'm even rooting for The Dark Knight which I don't particularly love but here's the thing: If you hand me two Oscar candidates that are essentially the same ballpark of quality... say, Revolutionary Road and Dark Knight for an semi-random example: I will almost always side with the non-baity genre film to be included in the mix. It's important for the Oscars --and by extension any group involved in awards and recognition -- to not operate on auto-pilot. The award is called "Best Picture" not "Best Dramatic True Story or Period Piece". And if more voters understood that then Rachel Getting Married and WALL•E would be major players this year, now wouldn't they?

In other news: I think I'll collect interesting year in review / online top ten top ten lists again this year. On account of interesting (for me... maybe you, too?)
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Red Carpet Lineup

A random sampling of celebs from premieres, parties and events this past week...

image sources

I made fun of Sharon Stone this week but I did it with love, I assure you. In truth I think the world would be a far better place if more celebrities tried as hard as she (still) does. Take Scarlett Johansson for example. This tent jacket is what she wears to her own premieres now? Sometimes she doesn't even try. You gotta try. It's Hollywood. Tinseltown... tinsel is, like, shiny -- get it Scarlett? No? Well, if you don't try on the red carpet at least try on screen. [sigh] I worry about that one... it's been 5 years since a particularly memorable pair of performances made her A List. So many films since then and so little to remember from them. If I were King of Hollywood, I would appoint Sharon as Headmistress of the Academy for Aspiring Movie Stars and I would warn her that Scarjo is a natural who just ain't applying herself.

A private message to both Kerry Washington and Jay Hernandez: Please start making some movies I'd actually like to see because you're extraordinarily scrumptious. Pleez & thx, - N.

Rachel Weisz loves zebras and Darren Aronofsky so she has reasonably good taste. I'm hoping you'll see her at the Oscars... because that would mean her auteur husband was finally recognized for something and why not start with The Wrestler. It's so good... I'm next to finished with all the big ticket Oscar hopefuls and The Wrestler just keeps looking better and better in comparison. Luca Argentero... I had some reason for including him but it's already escaped me. Ciao Italia. Angelina Jolie would love to stay and chat but she's busy. busybusybusy. The question is will she & Brad stay so active red carpet wise once the multiple global Changeling and Benjamin Button premieres are over? Will we see them at the Globes and Oscars? That depends on the fates of their vehicles, his & hers.

Go Link and Multiply

Candy Kirby Madonna the Muppet Slayer
Burbanked the Wolverine photo you haven't seen yet. Hee
Black Book a big piece on James Franco. He sure has been getting around. Does ubiquity = Oscar nomination?
Lazy Eye Theater is celebrating another birthday with some very drunk guests
Bright Lights After Dark loves Daryl Hannah as much as I


Listen Eggroll Mike D'Angelo writes a letter to the other members of the NYFCC. They vote next week on the "best" of the year. He makes great points. I've often bitched about the various critical circles and associations never looking beyond Oscar suspects. What is the point of critics awards existing if they're just Oscar predictions?
Hollywood Elsewhere Wells weighs in on that controversial piece on The Reader I mentioned
IFC has observations on the Sundance lineup
MTV Movies Josh theorizes about a conversation with SigWeavey in regards to Aliens
In Contention Fox Searchlight is showing The Wrestler with both Raging Bull and On the Waterfront and calling it "Contenders". Indisputably a brave move but very savvy I think. At the very least it reeks of confidence rather than flop sweat.

And finally... Rain (Speed Racer, Ninja Assassin) performed this past week at the Korean Film Awards which you can watch below. The Oscars never get performances with this much hip thrusting. At least not since... since... I think I've blocked it out. Help me out here...


[src blog]

Oh yes, Rob Lowe and Snow White.

Only Rob Lowe didn't tear his shirt off at the end as far as I recall. In case you care the big winners of the night were The Chaser (Best Picture, Director, Actor ... being remade in English already) and Crush and Blush (two actress prizes)
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I Want to Believe... in Contests

So, X-Files: I Want to Believe didn't exactly light up the summer box office but, given the franchises longevity, it's sure to find more of a sustainable life now that it's on DVD. Want a copy? I have four to give away so you can stare at Gillian Anderson all you want in the privacy of your own home. People have done a lot less worthwhile things in the privacy of their own homes. To enter the contest...

Send me an e-mail by Sunday night December 7th with the following information:

1. "X"... in the subject line.
2. Your name and mailing address in case you win (kept private, not sold)
   
3. Complete the following sentence: "I want to believe _________________ " [...anything movie related you'd like to believe in will do! That's for publication right here]
   

Mercedes Ruehl Loves Her Fans

She had no idea they were so young and chiseled!


I saw this photoshoot and I immediately thought "his favorite movie must be The Fisher King"

That's how my brain works.

Express your sympathies for my incurable condition in the comments.
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File This Curiosity Under "Very Curious Indeed"

.

JA from MNPP here, asking the question: Why mess with a great thing, Darren Aronofsky? According to this piece at MTV, Aronofsky is considering making a new-ish version of his 2006 stunner The Fountain.

"“It wouldn’t be a ‘director’s cut,’” he said — more like an alternate story told with the addition of unused footage from the first go-round. This would be a complicated project on a couple of levels, though, and it’s at least a few years away."

It's been awhile and my memory is hazy but for some reason I had thought that the original version Aronofsky had been working on with Brad Pitt in Hugh Jackman's role never actually got around to filming anything. Am I nuts? I could've sworn that Pitt backed out right before shooting was set to commence, thereby throwing the project into turmoil that took a couple of years from all of the world's Aronofsky-movie-watching abilities and made me dislike Pitt for a bit. (And Bradley appears to be playing the same ditching game with Darren again on The Fighter; will you ever learn, Darren?)

I guess I must be nuts if Aronosfky has gone on the record with hopes of integrating this lost footage together into some Franken-Fountain monster thing. I suppose there must've been some effects work and the like done early and that's what he's speaking of?

As far as I'm concerned Aronofsky is a genius and I will watch whatever he wants to make. But I'm perfectly happy with The Fountain as is and I know he had a frustrating experience with the project but I'd rather he just went and made new movies and not turn this into something like Ridley Scott's fifty versions of Blade Runner. If Rachel Weisz turns up on a unicorn, somebody's going to get a very stern talking to!
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Hungry for Hunger? You'll Starve

If you live in LA, you have seven days to catchthis new movie about the battle of wills between Maze Prison hunger strikers and Margaret Thatcher's regime that took place in 1981. Michael Fassbender (300) is mesmerizing in the lead role of Bobby Sands, doing a Christian Bale Machinist self-nihilism act. The rest of you/us will have to wait until 2009 to see Hunger. Or you could save it on your rental queues though this is not an ideal way to experience it. It's a brutal challenging film, fond of jaw dropping sustained takes and the ease of pausing at home or thinking "i'll finish this later" will dilute its cumulative power.


I've thought long and hard about L.A. only "qualifying runs" for Oscar and I'm considering disqualifying them for my own awards (I allowed for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days last year... but it still felt off. It's the principle of the thing. It makes me crazy) One week qualifiers circumvent what I've always believed was a crucial aspect of cinema: the audience. You. Only industry and press can see these movies and here's the thing: movies should not be hard to see. If you can afford a ticket, nobody should be keeping your desired movie from you. The cinema is an artform for the masses [however abusive the masses happen to be to it with their dollars, continually requesting more talking dog movies and whatnot --but that's another topic. Sorry for the tangent. -ed.] and should remain that way.

It saddens me that the Academy, who regularly tweak their rules, still allow for these one-week qualifiers. Even though it's technically legal it's like cheating. It's a loophole. You are not really a 2008 movie if you open at one theater in one city for one week and then remove yourself quickly to plan for 2009. The idea, for all films that try this tactic, is to win Oscar nods and hope that that will boost their profile when they open for real. But this is rather like trying to pay rent by buying yourself a lottery ticket. It's not easy to get Oscar nods --particularly for small art films -- and many films that go this route never make good on their "opening in February/March" claims when they find themselves without Oscar nods... which is the case more often than not. Oops. The system as it is stinks; It's not healthy for these small movies, it screws with the structural calendar idea of awards systems and most importantly, it's no good for the movie loving audience who are left out of the conversation altogether.

[/soapbox]
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7 Word Movie Review: Frost/Nixon

Distracting structure but surprisingly good acting duet.
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NBR (Sucking the Corporate Teat Since 1929)

The National Board of Review has chosen and their awards go like so...

Picture: Slumdog Millionaire.
Top Ten: Burn After Reading, Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Defiance, Frost/Nixon, Gran Torino, Milk, Wall•E and The Wrestler... so I scored 6/10 of my predictions --not bad considering it coulda gone anywhere. But they actually made it an 11 film year since their Best Picture is no longer listed in their top ten. Sneaky way to honor more films and make sure their dinner is well attended, don'cha know.


Director: David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Actress: Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Actor: Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk

But this being the NBR, they found a way to honor just about everybody including non top ten scorers like Doubt, The Visitor and Frozen River which is still doing really well in precursors... whoda thunk?. The only instantly noticeable "snubs" among high profile Oscar hopefuls were zip for Revolutionary Road, The Reader and Australia. They had to make room for multiple honors for the Eastwood films, you see.


See the full list of awards here

before nominations were announced... I wrote

I forgot to make National Board of Review predictions [update: my correct predictions are in red below] but they announce today. It's best not to overthink their choices. Just remember: they turn into quivery jello if you say any syllables that sound like "Clint Eastwood" or "Edward Zwick". They also love December movies and they sometimes throw curveballs in the supporting categories. So here's my totally silly and utterly useless guesswork mere hours (minutes?) before we know. Filler!

Predictions
Picture: Revolutionary Road * Director: Ron Howard Frost/Nixon * Actor: Clint Eastwood -Gran Torino (if this traction is going to happen for real and not merely in the minds of pundits, it has as good a chance of any of starting here) Actress: Winslet for both Revolutionary Road and The Reader (they like double dippers) Supp Actor: Heath Ledger -The Dark Knight (I'm predicting him for every group this year --which is boring but it's one bandwagon few will want to miss) * Supp Actress: Vera Farmiga Nothing But the Truth * Foreign Film: Gomorra (Italy) * Documentary Man on Wire * Semi-Random Top Ten Guesses: Changeling, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, Defiance, Doubt, Gran Torino, The Reader, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Wrestler
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Prop 8 The Musical

This has been making the web rounds for the past couple of days. I don't care if I'm late to the party. Fashionably late. A few of you probably haven't seen it. I don't want to miss a party that manages to get Margaret Cho, Kathy Najimy (where ya been?), Alison Janney, John C Reilly, Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris (yum yum) and Maya Rudolph singing and dancing for civil rights.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Although perhaps being late to something that's only 3 minutes long isn't such a good idea.

Let the Right Link In

Stale Popcorn a must read: spot-on reenactment of manic fanboyism
ModFab is apparently on a one man mission to review every single Oscar movie in two weeks time. Where do people find the time?
Acidemic yes, what is that buzzing in Belle Du Jour ?
My New Plaid Pants 'Do Dump or Marry: Baz's men'
In Contention on the Sundance lineup
Cinema Styles on the difficulties of happy endings


Kenneth in the (212) remembers the golden god days of Ryan O'Neal
Pajiba "five guys it main pain you to realize are Republicans"
Huffington Post Thelma Adams on the sex in The Reader. The article has a lot of interesting points but labelling scenes between a 33 year old actress and an 18 year old actor "child pornography" is grossly misleading
Carpetbagger gets rowdy with Mickey Rourke @ the Gotham Awards
The Hot Blog Best Action Movie. Do the BFCA need another category? We could solve all of these genre problems if all awards groups would only realize that you can be great without being a drama and should be rewarded if you are. In other words if WALL•E or The Dark Knight or Let the Right One In are the best in a year, nominated them for "Best" not "Best of [insert ghetto here]" So sayeth the FiLM BiTCH.

Blah blah blah. Enough of my soapbox. Here is the trailer to the new 20s era queerish biopic (Salvador Dali + Federico Garcia Lorca) starring Robert Pattison, trading creepy Twilight staring for creepy pencil mustache


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Signatures: Sissy Spacek

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

Sissy Spacek is the rarest of Hollywood starlets. Nowadays she contently weaves her wonder into tiny, thankless roles, and so rarely glams up the red carpet or graces the tabloid page. She makes it almost easy to forget her certifiable A-list rank, even as we watch her dazzle and disappear in films like the upcoming Four Christmases. But never turn your back on her; Sissy's always been one for the third act stunner.

Consider it a lesson learned: It's always the quiet ones...


Sissy has mastered the ability to go from meek to madwoman in the blink of a telekinetic eye. How easy we forget that she torched her entire graduating class and took out a sizable portion of the Midwest population. Blame it on her strict religious upbringing or a boyfriend with homicidal tendencies, but Sissy's never one to be underestimated. That pleasant homegrown beauty and peaceful naivete can so readily warm our hearts like a smooth country ballad, but one should always be prepared for Sissy to steal an identity, or something far worse.


Fair enough, her characters often have good reason for turning on a dime -- things like public humiliation or familial loss. But if you think Sissy's always justified in this momentary madness, try saying it to Marisa Tomei's face...


Sissy says of her startling, unhinged moment with Tomei, "She was a really good sport about it, but I felt awful. I mean, she had a bag of ice on her face, to keep the swelling down between takes. And that was our first scene together."

Upon playing Ruth Fowler, her Oscar-nominated role from In the Bedroom, Sissy says she initially found little in common with the emotionally reserved character. But rest assured Sissy quickly found her creative spark as only she could, "I'll be in the middle of throwing a fit and I'll think, 'I've got to remember this, I can use this. This is going in my toolbox.'"

Men Behind the Curtain

Over the next week or so I'll be welcoming some new or recurring voices back into the blog. Things get so crazy this time of year. So much to do. So much Oscar information to parse. I need help! Adam of Club Silencio has an actress series for you starting later tonight. And James of Out1 might be back soon, too, to raise the temperature. I've tapped Glenn of Stale Popcorn to FYC it for y'all, Oscar wise. JA of My New Plaid Pants is around here somewhere. I think I misplaced him. JA? But I'm not going on vacation or anything. Don't worry. Stay tuned....

Bill Irwin, The Film Experience Interview

new podcast!
Part 2 of 2: Rachel Getting Married Special

If you sat through Rachel Getting Married, curious about where you'd previously seen Anne Hathaway's mediating papa "Paul" before I'll help you out. Bill Irwin's film credits stretch all the way back to Robert Altman's Popeye (1980) and he's popped up in films as diverse as Lady in the Water, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Stepping Out, Across the Universe and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. His television appearances include The Cosby Show, Northern Exposure and multiple stints on Sesame Street as "Mr. Noodle"

For theater aficionados he's a much more familiar presence, a bonafide star. I've been an admirer since the first time I saw him on stage in The Goat or Who is Sylvia? in 2002. I was late to the party since Mr. Irwin has actually been winning coveted high profile awards in New York since the 1980s. He's practically an awards magnet. Remember that comic thread in the movie The Savages (2007) wherein Laura Linney and Philip Seymor Hoffman desperately yearned to become Guggenheim Fellows? Well Bill Irwin received just that honor all the way back in 1984...

Read more about my interview with Bill Irwin

Or if you're illiterate, you can just move straight to the enhanced podcast @ iTunes to hear me grill Bill Irwin incessantly on the great Kathleen Turner (thank God he indulged me) and hammer out what it is about Rachel Getting Married that makes people love it or hate it so. There's also a standard mp3 if you don't have iTunes. And just for fun here's a couple of Bill Irwin routines from YouTube...



(left) w/ Broadway star Karen Ziemba perform "Sooner or Later" (right) in Regard of Flight with Michael O'Connor and Doug Skinner
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"David Fincher, Can We Talk?"

Dave, I just got back from one of those Academy screenings of Benjamin Button. Totally dug it... Especially the part where Benjamin gets younger and younger and Brad Pitt looks exactly like he did back in '92. Golden! Brad can run through my rivers whenever he wants. I love the way your brain works, Dave.

So... yeah, 1992. I'm sure that brings someone else to mind. I give you one guess you naughty man. Call me. I have an idea. I'll foot the f/x bill myself if needs be.

xoxo,

___S.S.

what's your favorite holiday movie?

...or favorite holiday song? I don't want to wait this year. I want that Christmahanakwanzica spirit quickly. So start spreading it around in the comments.

* to rush along the wintry cheer, I've updated the banner. Reader Mikadzuki, who answered a trivia question correctly last week chose the winter wear theme! refresh your screens

Actress Psychic ~Point Distribution at Last

Jog your memory fiercely.

Really work those mnemonic muscles.

Remember that early bird Best Actress Oscar prediction contest "Actress Psychic"? Well the point totals are finally here. I had some spreadsheet difficulties but it's now done with a little less than 2 months to go before the contest ends. Once Oscar nominations are announce I award gold, silver and bronze medals for the most psychic of all TFE readers. Rich Aunt Pennybags, Patrick T, JarJar K and Ben F are tied for first place so far.

So here are the points amassed since the contest began...
(a few minor corrections made)

Anne Hathaway Rachel Getting Married +14 (EW cover that mentions Oscar, hosted Saturday Night Live, Played in Toronto & Venice, Indie Spirit and Satellite nominee, film actually opened)
Anjelina Jolie Changeling + 12 (Vanity Fair & EW covers, played at Cannes and won a prize for Clint Eastwood, Satellite nominee, film opened & box office)
Meryl Streep Mamma Mia! +12 (Film Comment & EW cover that mentions Oscar, EW entertainer of year list, Satellite nominee, film opened & box office)
Meryl Streep Doubt +10 (Film Comment & EW cover that mentions Oscar, EW entertainer of year list, Satellite nominee)


Sarah Jessica Parker Sex & the City + 5 (EW cover but no points since the cover is shared by three others, EW entertainer of the year list, film opened & box office)
Melissa Leo Frozen River + 5 (Gotham Award, Indie Spirit & Satellite Nominee, film opened)
Franka Potente Che +5 (Played at Cannes and won a prize for Benicio Del Toro & played at Toronto)
Sally Hawkins Happy-Go-Lucky +4 (Played at Toronto, Satellite nominee, film actually opened)
Julianne Moore Blindness +4 (Played at Cannes & Toronto, film opened)
Kate Winslet The Reader + 4 (Vanity Fair cover, Satellite nominee)
Kate Winslet Revolutionary Road + 3 (Vanity Fair cover)
Amy Adams Sunshine Cleaning +3 (Vanity Fair cover)
Rachel McAdams The Lucky Ones +3 (Played at Toronto, film opened)
Keira Knightley The Duchess + 3 (Played at Toronto, film opened)
Natalie Portman Brothers +3 (served on jury at Cannes)
Diane Lane Nights in Rodanthe + 2 (film opened & box office)
Ellen Burstyn Lovely Still (+2 Played at Toronto)
Vera Farmiga Nothing but the Truth (+2 Played at Toronto)
Charlize Theron The Burning Plain +2 (Played at Toronto & Venice)
Kerry Washington Lakeview Terrace +2 (film opened & box office)
Cate Blanchett The Curious Case of Benjamin Button +1 (Interview cover)
Emily Blunt Sunshine Cleaning / The Young Victoria (+1 NY Times Style Magazine)
Gwyneth Paltrow Two Lovers +1 (Played at Cannes)

+1 hey, at least their films opened
Hiam Abbas -The Visitor, Mischa Barton -Closing the Ring, Juliette Binoche -Voyage of the Red Balloon, Patricia Clarkson -Married Life, Penelope Cruz -Elegy, Helen Hunt -then she found me, Norah Jones -my blueberry nights, Nicole Kidman -Australia, Julianne Moore -savage grace, Ellen Page -the tracey fragments, Meg Ryan -the women, Sissy Spacek -lake city, Uma Thurman -life before her eyes, Naomi Watts -funny games

It's possible that there are human errors in points and so on. If so let me know. Here's that complete chart. But overall, I think the March 2008 collective prediction is probably going to be 40- 60% correct come nomination morning.

Indie Spirit Nominations

Wheeeee. Precursor Oscar season. As you may have noticed from all the "B"s in the sidebar I've mostly enjoyed the intended Best Picture hopefuls but haven't been blown away. That is to say I think the eventual Oscar lineup will be solid (there don't seem to be any embarrassments being treated like godsends) but I still really hope Oscar looks back further than December if they feel similarly underwhelmed. I mean let's get real: The Visitor --which I don't even love as much as most people-- is just as good as many of them. It's just not as anointed as Future Oscar Player. It lacks the scale they like. There's also Rachel Getting Married, WALL•E, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Happy-Go-Lucky which are also better than some of the big ticket entries not to mention that one superhero movie people went crazy for. Why must precursor bodies and the media accept the studio release decisions as proof of worth? But wait. I'm getting way ahead of myself.

I ramble and I worry about the destination but I'm so glad we've begun the journey. Aren't you?

Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature Ballast, Frozen River, Rachel Getting Married, Wendy & Lucy and The Wrestler
Best First Feature Campos -Afterschool, Jenkins - Medicine for Melancholy, Zalla -Sangre de Mi Sangre, Rivera -Sleep Dealer, Charlie Kauffman -Synechdoche New York
Best Director Ramin Barani -Chop Shop, Jonathan Demme -Rachel Getting Married, Courtney Hunt -Frozen River, Thomas McCarthy -The Visitor

This is the second time already (following The Satellites) that Frozen River beat The Visitor to a Best Picture citation while McCarthy was nominated for director. Isn't that quirky? I thought The Visitor would have more awards oomph than Frozen River. Also: I really must see this Ballast movie. It leads the nominations, tied with Rachel Getting Married and Frozen River, all with six nominations each but I expect The Wrestler might win the top prize despite the odd omission of Darren Aronofsky in the director shortlist.

Lead Male Javier Bardem -Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Richard Jenkins -The Visitor, Sean Penn -Milk, Jeremy Renner -Hurt Locker, Mickey Rourke -The Wrestler
Supporting Male James Franco -Milk, Anthony Mackie -Hurt Locker, Charlie McDermott -Frozen River, Jim Myron Ross -Ballast, Haaz Sleiman -The Visitor

It's worth noting that Hurt Locker, the long awaited (well, by me) return of director Kathryn Bigelow is not eligible for the Oscars. Indie Spirits have different eligibility requirements. Hurt Locker will be distributed by Summit Entertainment but we don't know quite when. I expect Mickey Rourke wins this without breaking a sweat. The Oscar will be a tougher get.

Lead Female Summer Bishil -Towelhead, Anne Hathaway -Rachel Getting Married, Melissa Leo -Frozen River, Tarra Riggs -Ballast, Michelle Williams -Wendy & Lucy
Supporting Female Penélope Cruz -Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Rosemarie DeWitt -Rachel Getting Married, Rosie Perez -The Take, Misty Upham -Frozen River, Debra Winger -Rachel Getting Married

Big big love for Rachel Getting Married with all three of its main ladies up for prizes. Who wants to bet that Debra Winger shows up to the ceremony. Nobody? Yeah, y'all are too smart.


Depending on whether you think AMPAS voters take the Indie Spirits as "reward enough" for smaller films or as a rowdy youthful "suggestion" or just ignore them altogether today's announcements are either bad news, good news, or indifferent news.

Which do you think they are?

P.S. my Oscar prediction pages are being updated (right this second) to reflect precursor citations that have already started rolling in.
P.S. 2 For a complete list of the ISA nominations, you can click here.

7 Word Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Big Fish redux. Great effects. Molasses pace.

[editor's note: another seven words so you don't get confused]

Liked it more than those words imply.

[editor's note 2: if you need more than 14 words you can always click on the labels below...]

*

Slumdog Millionaire Review

better late than never?

Interested in a big screen version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Perhaps you're looking for a gritty coming of age journey? Do you like foreign language flavored arthouse dramas? Do adrenaline-fueled flashback / flashforward adventures pique your interest? Perhaps you're not fussy about genres so long as True Love conquers all? If any of this appeals to you than Slumdog Millionaire might just hit your sweet spot. It has a habit of doing that if you've been following its pre-release festival life through to its great per screen average in limited release. The rest of us can just marvel at how much high-speed juggling this frenetic Oscar hopeful does.

Slumdog tells the rather hard to swallow story of a orphan boy in Mumbai --his mother is murdered very early in the picture -- who competes on his country's franchise of the global Millionaire phenomenon. Miraculously he knows all the answers without so much as a grade school education. The game show is concerned that he's cheating and, to allay their suspicions, Jamal (Skins star Dev Patel) explains how he came to know the answers. The film toggles between this investigation, the actual game show and multiple vignettes about his childhood and adolescence that reveal how he came by these very random answers.

Read the rest ...
*

7 Word Movie Review: The Reader

Sober and intelligent. Too risqué for Oscar?

I simply remember my favorite links, and then i don't feel so bad

Nick's Flick Picks Nick has a revised "favorites" list and (joy!) 6 new write-ups. That's right, 6. Now, if I could only get my "personal canon" going again
Low Resolution Joe's winter preview
Stale Popcorn Glenn's hopes 4 Oscar season
Basket of Kisses Deborah and Roberta meet Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) now on the boards in that old Madonna role in Speed the Plow
Boy Culture Matthew does not like this 'John Travolta' guy
My New Plaid Pants JA's 5 favorite Woody's (Allen)
In Contention Guy likes the "Sight & Sound" top ten list, with Hunger up top
Websters is my Bitch Stacey has irrational hatred for Robert Pattison
Tractor Facts Fox has some words for Four Christmases. More than four he has.
Gold Derby on gay characters and Oscar. It helps Penn's Oscar chances that Milk dies violently... sadly
StinkyLulu Lulu is collecting web writings on Gus Van Sant's Milk

Today's Oscar Puzzle: Supporting Actress 2008

Your assignment: Look over my Supporting Actress prediction page. Return and answer me these questions 6 before the precursors really begin?

• Penélope Cruz. Does the Academy really want her to be "Oscar Winner Penélope Cruz" from now on or is that "Javier Bardem presents" fantasy merely a fanboy wet dream?
• Groupthink says Cruz/Henson/Winslet/DeWitt/Davis give or take Tomei. Very warm... or "ha ha people think they have it figured out before the precursors hit every year. How annually gullible they are!"
• Stealth Attack. Anyone under the radar that shouldn't be?
  
• Whither Critics Awards? Doesn't it seem like the kind of year where they might be all over the place (at least here) and who does that benefit exactly?
• Georgia all over again? Do you think there's a chance that Rosemarie DeWitt pulls a Mare Winningham '95 move (getting nom'ed instead of JenniferJasonLeigh in her Oscar vehicle) on Our Miss Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
• Just for fun! Re: Amy Adams in Doubt... she's cute and all but which actresses do you think really ought to play nuns next?
  

Go...