Up in the Link

My Modern Met fun film art for the BAFTA best pic nominees. Speaking of... I will be live-blogging or rather tape-delay blogging the BAFTAs tomorrow night. Be here, 8 PM ESTish.
New York Magazine have you heard the murmurs about Walter Kirn, the Up in the Air novelist? He ain't happy about the lack of an Oscar invite.
Geekologie disturbing Spider-Man fetish video. I wonder if Tobey Maguire ever spent time in his trailer doing this.
I Watch Stuff Owen Wilson to star for Woody Allen next. I could see that pairing working, couldn't you? The film is called... wait, you guessed it, Untitled Woody Allen Project.
Cinema Blend Kristin Scott Thomas to seduce Ethan Hawke in Paris. Can't wait! Parisians are totally into Ethan Hawke, haven't you heard?
Situated Laundry picks 10 favorite frames from 2009 movies (inspired by In Contention)

Vulture Christoph Waltz on The Green Hornet and working with Quentin Tarantino. I love this bit

I said to Quentin once, “Why is it that I’ve never seen a bad performance in one of your movies?” Even from actors — well, you know my belief is there’s no such thing as great actor, good actor, bad actor. And Quentin’s movies are the perfect proof for that. Because when someone is right, he or she is right. And only then can she be good. And with Quentin, I don’t know the way he casts, the way he looks at people, but also, you know, the way he writes his parts, every single part is a great part. There are no lousy parts in Quentin’s movies.

That's so so true. Even the bit players have fun/interesting parts to work with.

Birthday Suit: Shapeshifters

Sing your favorite stars a happy birthday in the privacy of your own home.
Maybe not out loud.

Happy birthday to Ethan, Rebecca and Mike

11/06
Today's filmic / famous birthdays.
If it's your own birthday shout it out. It's your day, after all.

1882 Thomas H Ince actor who became a lifeguard then an actor again until he was a pioneering film director who became a studio mogul until he morphed into Cary Elwes having an affair with Kirsten Dunst ... and then died mysteriously.
1903 June Marlowe lovely brunette who became the Warner Bros proclaimed "Most Beautiful Girl On Screen" and eventually settled in as Our Miss Crabtree
1931 Mike Nichols Second City Improv founder who became a comedian then morphed into one of the most celebrated film directors of the second half of the 20th century. The filmography is kind of uneven, though, right?

poll by twiigs.com

1946 Sally Field a little Pasadena girl who became Gidget then a nun who flew before splintering into several personalities as Sybil. After which she became Burt Reynolds girl then a union activist who was suddenly a farmwife and, with that farm job, a Double-Oscar-Winner. Finally she was passing along the sweetheart torch as a grieving mom "I just want to hit something! I want to hit it hard" ...until she finally became Nora Walker. Judge me all you want but I freaking love her.
1947 Edward Yang an engineer who became a computer guy and then an auteur behind who made the internationally reknowned YiYi (2000)
1949 Brad Davis Floridian who became a television star then a film star of ridiculously potent sexual charisma (Querelle and Midnight Express ...about that shower scene) before becoming an AIDS activist in his final years

1952 Michael Cunningham, novelist (The Hours, A Home At the End of the World) who is also a professor and screenwriter and sometime awards magnet
1957 Lori Singer Fame's (1980) freaky cellist who became Short Cuts (1993) freaky cellist. Hey now, she didn't shape shift at all!
1978 Taryn Manning TV actor who became supporting movie player who I was worried had peaked (?) as snow bunny in Hustle & Flow... but thankfully she's employed for another couple of years at least. Lot of films in pre-production
1988 Emma Stone TV guest actress who is suddenly a busy comedic film actress (Super Bad, House Bunny, Zombieland)

Finally... three actors are celebrating big days and I can never decide how I feel about them: Ethan Hawke, a child actor turned film star turned Mr. Uma Thurman turned actor/novelist celebrates his 39th, the wildly uneven Thandie Newton (is there actually two of her? So good in some scenes/films, so ungood in others) turns 37, and themodel turned Femme Fatale turned nude blue lady turned TV star known as Rebecca Romijn also turns 37.

I haven't watched Romijn's new show Eastwick -- have any of you? -- because the Cher|Pfeiffer|Sarandon trinity is too holy for mine eyes to blaspheme. Is it any good?

Betty Draper Loves White Fang

I've been on a Mad Men bender. Nine episodes in the past three days. This decision was spurred on by a hugely thoughtful gift from a friend (1st and 2nd season) and the abundant EMMY nominations last week. Just as I began to watch Season 1 in marathon form -- I'd only seen some of it not being a regular until season 2 -- the publicity blitz for Season 3 (coming in August) started hitting.

This Interview interview with January Jones (aka "Betty Draper") is so cute.

Who knew that that Ethan Hawke wolfdog movie White Fang (1991) was that inspiring to little children? It made little January want to be an actor. Jones is so sneaky/fantastic as Betty Draper (she's almost too good in the role for you to notice how much she's doing... initially) that I must now thank the makers of White Fang for contributing to the wonder that is Mad Men.

Jones has been toiling around in the movies since 1999 in everything from Bandits and American Wedding through Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada but Betty Draper is the role that's made her career. A charming reveal in that short video: it actually sounds like she read the Jacqueline Susann novel Once is Not Enough that her parents got her name from.

Pointless Cinematic Trivia Alert! That trashy bestseller was technically the last book Susann ever finished (Film critic Rex Reed, her friend, finished her next book Dolores when she took ill). Once... became a movie in 1975 a few years before January Jones was born. Deborah Raffin played "January" in the film but it was Brenda Vaccaro who nabbed the attention and a weird Oscar nomination to go with it (more on that odd 1975 supporting actress Oscar race). Three of Susann's six books were adapted into movies (the most famous being Valley of the Dolls) and she even got her own biopic Isn't She Great? starring Bette Midler.

Deborah as "January" / January as "Betty"

Where was I?

Oh yes, Mad Men. Time to watch the 10th episode. I'm tempted to do a blog series on all the movie references in Mad Men. But then I'm always tempted to do massive projects and I'm rarely afforded the time. Your feelings on Mad Men or Jacqueline Sussan or White Fang are more than welcome in the comments. Help me feel less alone in the universe tonight.

poll by twiigs.com