Woodstock Winners

I meant to reveal the winners of the Taking Woodstock contest earlier in order to celebrate that peace/love '69 flick from Ang Lee (Utopia!). Unfortunately I've been pretty hammered by the flu (Dystopia!) so I'm just now getting around to it. The five winners receive the original motion picture soundtrack, a t-shirt, an air freshener and a mud sliding date with Emile Hirsch (kidding!).

If you missed Taking Woodstock in theaters, I hope you'll check it out on DVD. It felt a bit formless in the theater but I think that form, er...formlessness, was right for the material and it plays well in the head (and heart) afterwards. I asked each contestant to name their favorite Ang Lee movie so I've included their comments below.

Winners were drawn randomly.

And the Winners are...

Cindy from Washington

My favorite would have to be Sense and Sensibility. I don't particularly like Jane Austen films, yet I loved this movie. And besides, who would've thought that a Taiwanese director could do something so charming and utterly British at heart?

Amir from Surrey

got to see Taking Woodstock yesterday. Joyous ensemble piece. Definitely not the "lesser Lee" some people are making it out to be. Watching Mamie Gummer in that wonderful, little, lived-in performance, it felt as though Manhattan-era Meryl was back. (That long hair! Ah!) Still feeling all tingly about Jonathan Groff. (Ah!)

Anyway, as for my favourite Ang Lee film, I have to cheat and go with two: Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution. For me, there is absolutely no separating the two. Both are repressed love stories (my favourite kind). Both subvert the conventions of their genre to startling effect. Both are very pretty to look at. I actually think the two films were made to be in dialogue with each other. They are his twin masterpieces.

Ang Lee's filmography. How many have you seen?

Dimi from Nashville

Hands down my favorite is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon simply for blowing my mind when I first saw it. I was 10 years old and naive to the capabilities of films that aren't Adam Sandler comedies. I have learned better since.

David Low from Connecticut

I have two favorite Ang Lee movies, Sense and Sensibility and Brokeback Mountain. Sense shows Lee’s masterful sensitivity in capturing matters of the heart, abetted by Emma Thompson’s impeccable adaptation of the Austen novel. Elinor and Marianne have to suffer before they find fulfillment with the right men but the serious side is balanced by the gentle humor throughout the film, leading up to the memorable ending in which Elinor (Thompson) cries uncontrollably and then smiles grandly when she finds out that Edward (Hugh Grant) isn’t married – what a moment of bliss at the movies. Elinor is like Ennis Del Mar because she represses her true feelings but thankfully she finds a happier end.

As for Brokeback, which I just rewatched recently, I love the spareness of the dialog, the precision and beauty of the cinematography and editing, its portrayal of American life we just don’t see very much in American cinema, and the devastating and heartbreaking portrayal of the love between Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, played to perfection by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. That scene when Ennis breaks down in Jack’s arms the last time they see each other is so moving you can barely stand watching it—and then there's the unforgettable last shot of Ennis with tears in his eyes looking at the two shirts entwined.

Drew Smith from California

My favorite Ang Lee movie is Lust, Caution because Tang Wei. The end.

Ha! Drew doesn't beat around the bush. Tang Wei was definitely something special in that movie. So very Oscar worthy. Sadly, we haven't seen a follow up film just yet. At first I expected Ang Lee to ride in to her rescue but then I remembered that he doesn't tend to work with actors a second time. But, ah, good news... she has finally made a second feature. It's called Yue man xuan ni shi (aka Crossing Hennessy) and it's a romantic comedy co-starring Jacky Cheung (Ashes of Time) about shopkeepers in Hong Kong.

Congratulations people!

Just for the record The Ice Storm had several votes for "favorite Ang Lee" movie but none of them were drawn. It was quite interesting for yours truly to see how well loved his entire filmography is. Though I don't believe Hulk nabbed a single "favorite" vote.

Finally...

Though he did not win the contest, I must also send out a big groovy loving thank you to frequent commenter/loyal reader Wayne B who was the only contestant to send in a photo with the requested hippie vibe. Well done, Wayne! I guess everyone else was shy this month but that's a total bummer because reader photos are fun-fun-fun! Hopefully when the next contest with a photo request rolls around, y'all won't be so stingy with your collective beauty.

Peace out,


Nathaniel (your host)
*

Taking Woodstock Contest

Reminder: I have 5 packages to give away celebrating Ang Lee's latest Taking Woodstock. The gift bag includes an original motion picture soundtrack (entertaining!), a t-shirt (useful) and an um... air freshener (???) In case you're a dirty hippie, I guess.

To enter, send me an e-mail by Sept 14th with:

1. "Woodstock" in the subject field
2. Your full name (and a nickname if you don't like your full name used when I publish the winners)
3. Your mailing address
4. A sentence or two explaining what your favorite Ang Lee movie is and why. What a filmography, right? This last bit is for publication in a later reader-centered post.
   

Optional for fun... If you'd like to include a photo of yourself giving a peace sign, wearing tie-dye or doing any such appropriately Woodstockian thing, feel free. I'll publish them in some sort of freeloving photo collage when the winners are announced.


5 winners will be drawn randomly from entries received. One lucky winner will also win a nude mud-sliding date with Emile Hirsch. I made that last part up just to see if you were still reading. Are you? Have you seen the movie yet? Joe Reid wrote a fun personal piece about it over at Low Resolution, so go read it.
*

Taking Giving Woodstock

It's been ages since we held a giveaway so, here you go. I have 5 packages to give away celebrating Ang Lee's latest Taking Woodstock. The gift bag includes an original motion picture soundtrack (entertaining!), a t-shirt (useful) and an um... air freshener (???) In case you're a dirty hippie, I guess.

To enter, send me an e-mail by Sept 14th with:

1. "Woodstock" in the subject field
2. Your full name (and a nickname if you don't like your full name used when I publish the winners)
3. Your mailing address
4. A sentence or two explaining what your favorite Ang Lee movie is and why. What a filmography, right? This last bit is for publication in a later reader-centered post.
   

Optional for fun... If you'd like to include a photo of yourself giving a peace sign, wearing tie-dye or doing any such appropriately Woodstockian thing, feel free. I'll publish them in some sort of freeloving photo collage when the winners are announced.


5 winners will be drawn randomly from entries received. One lucky winner will also win a nude mud-sliding date with Emile Hirsch. I made that last part up just to see if you were still reading. Are you? Have you seen the movie yet?
*

Genetic Lottery Winner

Do you know who this 19 year-old (pictured left) is?

Well, he's the grandson of two Hollywood giants. I'm not sure which two exactly though the maternal line in the equation is clear. She's the one pimping posting the picture, the one they called "The Look"...

You know how to whistle play Twister, don't you Steve...?

Read my new Towleroad article to identify him. I also briefly bitch about Humpday's newly photoshopped DVD cover and Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock. (Well, not so much bitching about the latter. It has its moments)

At this very moment...

I'm watching Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock. Which leads me to the natural question: Which historic concert do you most wish you could've seen in or before your lifetime? Other than Woodstock I mean. Let's see what kinds of music lovers film experience fans are. Your comments are required for this impromptu survey.

Cannes: Maggie Cheung and Your Nine "Great Directors"

Before the Palme D'Or is handed out, I've got two last bits from our buddy in Cannes but first (sigh) a big old frowny face in regards to the following nugget.

<--- Maggie Cheung and her boyfriend Ole Scheeren in 2008

Maggie Cheung's scene in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds was cut before the Cannes opening and will not be restored even though Tarantino is returning to the editing room. Presumably he's tinkering for maximum audience playability. The cutting room floor is a regular habitat for actors with small roles but this time it really hurts: Maggie still works the red carpet, but never the silver screen. She retired from movies after Clean and 2046 five long years ago. Basterds was going to provide us with a rare chance to see one of the most bewitching living actresses on the big screen again. Damn!
*
On to cheerier topics.

The generous take on Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock appears to be that it's a "minor" effort. Rosengje found it charming and especially enjoyed the first "fun and frothy" hour, but understands why people aren't taken with it

...the movie loses a lot of momentum toward the conclusion, with the actual music festival not quite coming together in a cohesive manner. Ang Lee makes the puzzling decision to not include any concert footage. The managed chaos that defines Taking Woodstock's first hour feels like it has been building toward something that viewers are ultimately denied access to.

Liev Schreiber is the movie's real standout as a transvestite security guard -- the audience interrupted his first scene with boisterous applause. The actor has limited screen time, making probably around four substantial appearances. Demetri Martin was extremely enjoyable, giving a nuanced performance that belies his limited screen experience. He has great comic timing and definitely suggested the character's muted sexuality (he's closeted) effectively. The supporting cast is generally impeccable, with Emile Hirsch and Paul Dano making the biggest impressions in small roles.

Rosengje also notes that she thinks age will play a heavy factor in reaction to the movie. She admits that some of the details and mythos escaped her (she's in her 20s) but thought the movie was a pleasant diversion, nonetheless.

She also told me about a documentary I hadn't yet heard of from Angela Ismailos called Great Directors.

One of the treats of Cannes is the ability to see sprawling epics alongside small, intimate pieces. The endearing and informative Great Directors falls into the latter category. Pic focuses on nine directors that have influenced Angela's life: Bernardo Bertloucci, Agnes Varda, Stephen Frears, Todd Haynes, David Lynch, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater, Ken Loach and John Sayles. A mixture of new interviews, archival footage, and well chosen film clips craft winning portraits of each of the auteurs. David Lynch proves most memorable, putting forth a charmingly gregarious personality that bizarrely contradicts his films. Trying to reconcile clips of Eraserhead and Inland Empire with the man telling anecdotes about Mel Brooks is one of the film's chief pleasures.

The mix of genders, ages, and nationalities of the directors ensures that the topics discussed do not become repetitive, but are constantly revisited in fresh and innovative ways. Despite the unique elements and perspectives, common threads do emerge. Hearing Sayles discuss working on Hollywood scripts to finance his own efforts evokes and contradicts Frears’ and Loach’s development through the BBC. Though the documentary is interview heavy, Ismailos varies her visuals to correspond to the character of her subjects: Bertolucci is shot primarily in formal interviews, while Linklater and Haynes are shown in a variety of interactive locales (i.e. driving, perusing books).

I wish the film shed more light on the Angela herself, who remains an enigmatic presence throughout “Directors,” occasionally revealing her presence during interviews or walking through shots on perilously high heels. She grants the directors a platform for expressing their own inspiration and intentions, but never really delves into the specifics of her own. With such unusual and impeccable taste in auteurs, I constantly wanted to know more about her own pursuits.

Indie Wire has more on the screening and the yacht party that I also sent Rosengje too.

The film sounds intriguing and it certainly prompts a completely necessary! commenting exercize. If I were making a documentary about nine living auteurs that influenced my life (not necessarily my favorites) I might have to go with: Tarantino, Haynes, John Hughes, Mike Nichols, Tim Burton, Paul Thomas Anderson, Woody Allen, James Cameron and Pedro Almodovar... but it's tough to say.

What about you? Which nine men or women would you choose if you were making a personal documentary about auteurs that shaped you?
*

Hump Day Hotties, Will Swenson in Hair

<-- This hippie to your left is Will Swenson, backstage at Hair here on Broadway. Not Hairspray, Hair. (They definitely don't believe in hairspray in this show. The locks must be free to fly about, the wilder the better.)

Swenson plays Berger (one of the musicals two leads) and the leader of the "tribe" of drugged up sexually uninhibited anti-war kids that the musical fawns over as they drop out in Central Park. The other lead is Berger's less wild best friend "Claude" played by freshly out Broadway regular Gavin Creel. He replaced Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening) who did the role in Central Park last summer. We assume he dumped Hair for his part in Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock? It's the musical's loss but who can blame him. You'd take a role in an Ang Lee film, too.

I apologize that I've been so weirdly name-droppy lately (I blame the recession ... it's fun, try it) but fact: I went to college with Will Swenson. We were both there the same time as Aaron Eckhart. I didn't really know either of them, only of them, but that hardly matters when name-dropping. My two best friends knew them (they ran with the actor/dancer crowd) ...so I pretend like I did.

Will Swenson in Hair (2009) / Treat Williams as "Berger" in the movie (1979)

So there Swenson is in the altogether in HAIR (the famous 1st act closer still includes the whole cast getting naked). Our alma mater would most definitely not approve. In fact, Swenson's fans probably won't either. Will Swenson's film career has been almost entirely as a star actor/writer/director in the ultra specific and insular world of Mormon movies with films like Singles Ward and Sons of Provo on his resume. (That filmmaking wave won a brief bit of media attention outside of Utah in 2000 but quickly retreated back into its own bubble). But if his original fans disapprove of his latest performance, it's their loss. The Berger role is spiritually akin to the emcee role in Cabaret: he addresses the audience frequently, taunts them sexually and serves as guide into this strange world. Swenson doesn't pull any punches. His is the most sensual performance and he's got the best head of hair. He's completely "best in show". A TONY nomination better be forthcoming.

<-- the 1979 movie featured early career performances from Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo and John Savage. It was Milos Forman's follow up to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I've always had trouble getting through Hair (1979) the movie. Have you seen it? I don't actually think much of the musical in general, on stage or film. It lacks as much direction as the characters it shines its sun on and I always have issues with musicals that only have 2 or 3 great songs. That said, this new production is great. The revival minimizes nearly all the musicals inherent flaws and maximizes everything that's resonant about its energy, sexuality and politics with exuberant setpieces, high energy performances, doses of reality and absolutely terrific staging which involves the audience more vigorously than any Broadway production has in recent memory. If you're visiting New York anytime soon, it's a totally rousing night of theater. This production: A

P.S. This production was so good, and its Vietnam era angst so resonant with contemporary shadings that I almost want someone to grab the film rights again. Surely more can be wrestled from it than what Milos Forman got? Here's the famous opening number "Aquarius" as interpreted in his film version and, just for fun, a number from a stage reading of another Broadway to Movies back to Broadway property, Camelot (Will Swenson is Sir Sagamore and singing with Marin Mazzie as Guinivere. He shows up at the 1:57 mark)


*

We Can't Wait #10 Taking Woodstock

Directed by Ang Lee
Starring Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber, Paul Dano, Kelli Garner, Imelda Staunton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Synopsis: Gay ol' Demetri and his life in the Catskills get caught up in the Woodstock hoopla in the summer of 1969.
Brought to You By Focus Features
Expected Release Date August 14

Ang Lee on set / author Elliot Tiber / Emile Hirsch on set

Joe: Ang Lee gays up another aspect of the modern American mythology. First cowboys, now the counterculture. Are we nervous about an unproven lead actor? Are we overestimating the gay factor?

Fox: I wonder how much Lee has to do to gay up of '60s counterculture in the first place. I mean, it was pretty gay already with the free love and all, right? Or, did the free love still kinda exclude the dude-on-dude action?

JA: It's Ang. I'm there. Also I'm hoping to find Emile Hirsch cute and appealing again, after being the only person who didn't think he was either in Milk. Win me back, Emile! If you wanna make out with Demetri in order to find my good graces, they do lay in that general direction.

poll by twiigs.com

Whitney: Demetri in an Ang Lee movie is the funniest thing I've heard since I heard Demetri's last stand up. I'm always a little so-so on Mr. Lee, but I'm really interested in Taking Woodstock.

Nathaniel: I haven't read up much on this one yet (though info is mere pages away) but I like Demetri and the supporting cast is intriguing / strong. Most importantly, what I've found is that it doesn't quite matter what the theme, time period or milieu is, Ang Lee will find a way to burrow in under the skin of it and make it his very own. His Woodstock will soon be ours for the taking. And after Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense & Sensibility, The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and Lust Caution, why wouldn't we wanna take?

In case you missed any entries they went like so...
*
We Can't Wait:
#1 Inglourious Basterds, #2 Where the Wild Things Are, #3 Fantastic Mr. Fox,
#4 Avatar, #5 Bright Star, #6 Shutter Island, #7 Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
#8 Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, #9 Nailed, #10 Taking Woodstock,
#11 Watchmen, #12 The Hurt Locker, #13 The Road, #14 The Tree of Life
#15 Away We Go, #16 500 Days of Summer, #17 Drag Me To Hell,
#18 Whatever Works, #19 Broken Embraces, #20 Nine (the musical)
intro (orphans -didn't make group list)
*