Link Crazy Pt. 1: Casting Special

EW Linda Hamilton, our favorite Terminator, joins Showtime's Weeds. Does this mean we need to start watching again?
Black Book "The sort of return of Mark Hamill"
OMG the next time someone wants to reshoot Psycho, how about puppets in the lead roles?
THR Three Musketeers (3D) cast getting bigger. Juno Temple (newly in demand, apparently) may play queen.
MTV Somebody cast Adam Rosenberg in a Willow (1988) reboot, like now
First Showing Will Smith rejected the role. It now looks like Terrence Howard may get 'Sexual Healing' ♫ is something that's good for me ♪ as Marvin Gaye for Cameron Crowe's upcoming biopic
Filmofilia Ewan McGregor for Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Did you get a chance to see Chris Klein's Mamma Mia! audition before it got pulled? It's resurfaced for the moment at Crushable. I almost didn't mention it out of pity but it is such a train wreck but the Videogum writeup was so funny

...there isn’t any cocaine left, because Chris Klein did it all.

And it only pushes all my buttons for Hollywood's carelessness with musicals as well as the blink and you miss it stardom of so many young actors. I was discussing this with Joe Reid yesterday and marvelling that anything went for Mamma Mia!'s casting team. They would obviously let anyone audition, given that on the evidence of the film, they didn't care about the vocal quality. Quoth Joe "like, cast people who can't sing, fine, but cast people who can't sing and are also not box-office draws? WTF?" Streep & Seyfried excepted, of course.
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Link & Order: Special Random Unit

The Awl "10 Reasons Why You Should Give Me One More Chance This Weekend" by that bucket of charm "Russell Crowe". (teehee)
Go Fug Yourself theorizes that Cate Blanchett stole a White House carpet
Go Fug Yourself... and welcomes Cannes crazy with open arms
Catalogue of Curiousities "floating heads of doom!"
Buzz Sugar the trailer for True Blood Season 3
Mister Hipp "He can take it." I love this illustration of Wolverine. So fun


Towleroad Elton John covering Madonna hits with scandily clad go go boys. What the hell?
Towleroad my weekly column
The Portland Mercury hilarious movie marquee. Poor Terrence Howard
A Socialite's Life Christina Ricci to join Laura Linney on Broadway in September. Interesting
Playbill Antonio Banderas returning to Broadway for Kander & Ebb's Zorba
Empire strangest bedfellows ever: Charlie Kaufman + Kung Fu Panda
/Film yes I've heard about the duleing Monroe biopics: Naomi Watts vs. Michelle Williams. Just haven't mentioned them yet since they kinda deserve a whole big post. Later. Have patience.

Finally, PopEater says goodbye to Law & Order (just cancelled) with a opening credits mashup of all casts from the franchise. I know people are sad that the original flagship series is going bye-bye. But puhleze. It lives on in 3 spinoffs and endless syndication like some unholy hydra beast. I will never be able to escape it. You've won, television my nemesis, you've won! I thank the original L&O for keeping my Broadway babies fed and in rent payments... but otherwise I kick it to the curb. See, I don't think I can take one more Linus Roache or Dianne Wiest situation wherein some gargantuan talent hides their magnificence under that particular bushel. The next great that the series plans to taint is... Isabelle Huppert. Je pleure.

The Battle For War Machine

JA from MNPP here, curious what my fellow TFE readers think about the recasting of Terrence Howard as Rhodes (who's probably set to become War Machine at some point in the sequel-ized future) in Iron Man by one Don Cheadle.

I come at this from a slightly different perspective than the general consensus I think, since I wasn't much of a fan of Iron Man at all. Which is weird because I'm always clamoring for less serious-mindedness when it comes to comic book adaptations, but then this one came along with boozer/user antihero Tony Stark and it didn't sit right with me. Chalk it up to an occasional distaste for RDJ - I liked him in Tropic Thunder, but found him to be, well, kind of boring here - as well as a really vivid, I-still-feel-it-in-my-gut hatred of the movie's lame-ass climax, which was... lame. Really really lame. Like, on a scale from Treat Williams in The Phantom to Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, Jeff Bridges makes Nick Nolte looks like Alfred Molina! (A cookie to anyone that follows the gist of that sentiment.)

All that's besides the point here though, since we're talking Terrence Howard... whom I barely remember in the flick. Which I'm taking as a good thing, since I normally hate Howard in everything, and since I don't feel anything regarding his performance in the film it must mean he gave an alright, less mannered than usual performance. Right? Course then went on to express the insane notion that everyone was holding their breath for the favorite superhero ever War Machine to show up... humility, thy name is not Terrence Howard.

But I love me some Don Cheadle. Buck Swope, y'all! (Look at him porning it up in that picture over there! I never knew he had that in him.)

So the place I stand with regards to this news is an ambiguous one. It does sound like The Powers That Be treated Howard kinda unfairly if he's to be believed. But on the other hand, Don Cheadle! I just don't know. What about y'all?

And on a seperate but related note, doesn't it suck that we've got two black actors in one superhero-movie role while it's otherwise basically a total wash with respect to minorities in these movies?
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Lustrous Silvery Metal Turns Gold

As I predicted Iron Man grossed $100 mil on opening weekend. Total worldwide cume as I type this is already past $200.


Some initial much lower estimates claimed that Iron Man was not the household name that Spider-Man or Batman were and are and couldn't therefore gross in their level. But what people rarely considered in opening weekend monetary terms is that Iron Man is super accessible. You don't need that familiarity. Think about it: It's not magic. It's not a mutation. No radioactive arachnid required, no fake science like cosmic or gamma rays to be explained. His story needs little of the conventional suspension of disbelief required for superhero movies... just the amount you need for big action movies. It's the story of a guy building a weapon. Iron Man is a machine. It's almost like hearing about a movie starring a robot. .. and robots have been hugely popular in the movies since the days of the silents. Hello Metropolis.

The box office success should lift second tier Iron Man up in the overall ranks of comic heroes though still below the top 4 that are unarguably and instantly recognizable to all generations: Marvel's Spider-Man and DCs big 3: Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman. I'm glad he'll be getting a sequel (currently expected in 2010) because I liked the movie but it was longer on origin story than it needed to be which makes the urge to rewatch less intense. But all told, a fun night at the movies as you already know. (I'm late to this one since I was unavailable over the weekend)

On the plus side: superb casting of the principles (especially our man Tony Stark), Robert Downey Jr knows to play this like he aint even trying... though obviously he's doing a lot for the film, terrific visual effects, the "cameo" by S.H.I.E.L.D. and highly enjoyable chemistry --more Tony & Pepper please! On the down side: muddled politics, a complete waste of Terrence Howard, a so-so climactic battle (Iron Monger's bark was way worse than his bite) and that tease of a coda.

All in all a solid superhero film but nothing that won't be supplanted as "the best ever" by collective short term memory as soon as the next solid and entertaining superhero film opens. For what it's worth: Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, X2 and Superman 2 (and whichever Batman installment you're in the mood for today) remain the seemingly unbreakable top five of "best" as this genre goes.

Regarding that post-credit Iron Man coda: Seriously, you naughty naughty corporations. Don't bait me with movies you're not ever going to deliver! There's not going to be an Avengers film (already announced for 2011) or a Justice League film (already on indefinite hold). I don't believe it. I know you hear differently elsewhere. But as ever I must ask: What is the financial upside for the studios? You think more people would go just because two superheroes were in a movie rather than one? Why pay 5 to 7 A list salaries when you can pay 1 or 2 and sometimes you don't even need to pay that (Superman Returns)? Show me an instance in any superhero franchise where adding characters also added to the revenue. Didn't the Batman and Spider-Man films get more and more crowded as they went? Did their profits also increase? No. The box office is still going to be in the $200 range... $300 to $400 if you make pure mainstream magic (like Spider-Man). Five heroes won't quintuple your profit but it sure will triple your budget.

Here's a chart of the box office performance of superhero movies (not adjusted for inflation). Spider-Man is on top. Right where he should be given that his films (#3 excepted) are the best. And if you're really a bean counter here is Marvel's current financial report.

index of reviews or back to the main blog for fresh postings or peek at any of the labels belows for more on these actors and topics...
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DVD Releases

pick of the litter
Black Snake Moan Ricci writhes, Jackson lectures and Timberlake cries. One of the most interesting films of 2007. I'm not sure it has enough ideas for its provocative collisions but it least it has ideas --more than most movies can say. And Christina Ricci shows signs that she's finally getting her groove back (surely worth tentative rejoicing) whilst diving into character for this sweaty druggy vulgar hellion
La Jetee / Sans Soleil Criterion Collection release of Chris Marker's influential films. I have been meaning to see La Jetee forever ...

the rest
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon Smart horror fans seem to love this - like our buddy MNPP
Peaceful Warrior A gymnast has an accident and meets a stranger (Nick Nolte) who helps him heal. Would you want Nolte as your spiritual guide --hasn't this kid seen those mug shots?
Pride Terrence Howard & the swim team. This comment is nothing particularly directed at this movie (I haven't seen it) but I'm getting the sense that someone needs to warn Howard about saying yes to every offer. It's very Michael Caine / Gene Hackman / Samuel L Jackson in their 'can't say no' workaholic mode. Struggling actors have to do this. Established types... why? Overspending? Delusional "I'll never work again" actorly panic?
Shooter Mark Wahlberg in action hero mode. I was just watching I Heart Huckabees the other day and damn he is awesome in that movie. Wahlberg's gift is clearly comedy or at least comedic beats fused into dramatic characterization. See also: Boogie Nights and The Departed
Standing Still For all of you who've wondered whatever happened to the film careers of yesterdays up & comers: James Van Der Beek, Mena Suvari, Xander Berkeley, Ethan Embry, Adam Garcia, Jon Abrahams, Lauren German and Melissa Sagemiller. Meerkat-loving Amy Adams is also in this post-college wedding drama. (She, too, has the Terrence Howard problem but hopefully that'll level itself off once the pre Junebug contracts are over)

runts
Wedding Wars The only reason I even list this is because I tried to watch it and feared my eyes would fall out --the worst thing about being gay, he says jokingly, is all the bad movies you have to endure to see glbt topics. John Stamos plays a gay wedding planner who goes on strike for gay marriage during the buildup to his brothers wedding. Stamos is still a Dorian Gray cutie but he hasn't risen above his sitcom acting origins. You're glad there are movies like this being made but you don't need to watch all of them! (I'm lecturing myself... the rest of you can just move along)
Dead Silence Another horror about dolls/dummies. Vasts swaths of people must have had really traumatic childhoods for this subgenre to stay popular. A 21% RT rating. Ouch

Blogosphere Multiplex: FOURFOUR

The Multiplex Interview series has been missing in action for four weeks. But today it returns with a bang for a very special episode with Rich of FourFour fame. For Rich-deprived readers (please do something about this so we don't have to pity you any longer!), he rose to fame with a fresh combo of unexpected humor and near-psychic insight (he can crystallize thoughts you didn't even know you had. You're screaming "exactly" while you're laughing your ass off at a surprise element). Oh and those recaps for America's Next Top Model and Project Runway helped, too.


10 questions with Rich of FourFour

Nathaniel: How often do you go the movies?

Rich: I try to go every week, which basically makes me a failure. I haven't been since the week of July 4 (Superman Returns). I plan to change all that this weekend. Swear!

Nathaniel: What's the biggest draw for you --what or who will always get your ass in that seat?

Rich: Haha, sadly, the answer is awfulness. If I think something is going to be a large-scale disaster, I'm THERE. Alternately, Jay Hernandez's juicy butt is something I'd pay to see (even clothed) without question.

Nathaniel: Unfortunately both the ass and the Jay are underused. In what other areas do you feel Hollywood is utterly failing?

Rich: That's a hard question to answer because I don't really see things that way -- big-budget garbage is always going to be big-budget garbage. It's always going to appeal to the lowest common denominator, and it needs to be evaluated on that level (so, basically, I can use the term "garbage" affectionately). It's more the over-precious indie shit that gets under my skin because it at least has the capacity to turn out something other than treacly blubbering that tries waaaaay too hard to be quirky.

Oh, but one thing that I really, really do hate about Hollywood is PG-13 horror. If a horror movie is PG-13, you know that the gore is going to be lame and that it'll probably take itself way more seriously than it should. There's this whole holier-than-slasher mentality that's just detrimental to the horror industry, this farce of the thinking-person's horror, when most of it (like The Ring) is far stupider than any b-movie hack-'em-up. PG-13 is a horrible institution in general. I guess it at least lets you know that what you'll be experiencing is a watered-down version of what you COULD be experiencing.

Nathaniel: Don't get me started on the MPAA.

It warms the cockles of my heart whenever you post about Winston and Rudy. The love is palpable. I think cats get a bad rap in movies, always cast as villains. Not that they aren't diabolical creatures --anyway, do you have any favorite feline characters or moments from the movies?

Rich: Hm, even though my mother is completely shameless about her love for talking-animal movies, I'm proud to say that I didn't inherit that interest. I like the song "We Are Siamese" from Lady and the Tramp, though.

Nathaniel: On to another mutual obsession: Project Runway. Or, for our multiplex purposes here, "Project Runway: The Movie". Plot? Casting? What do you see...

Rich: I see a stark, sparse and mostly science experimental film about Heidi's psyche. It'd mostly be images of her posing and running through fields, but I could see various contestants swooping in from time to time. I wish Kubrick were alive to really make this the way it needs to be made.

I wouldn't alter casting one bit -- the established personalities are essential to the Project Runway concept.

Nathaniel: Kubrick would make it work. Ba-da-dum. I'll be here all week. So this interview is going to be posted during Scarlett Johansson Week. What do you make of her or Hollywood's fascination with her? --she's in everything.

Rich: I have nothing but love for Scarlett. I love Ghost World like I love a person, and I pretty much love everyone involved unconditionally (much like the way I hate pretty much everyone that was involved in Good Will Hunting unconditionally). She seems like a cool girl, and it's nice to see someone with a seemingly understated personality get attention, since, you know, it's almost always the tramp who screams the loudest.

Also, she has a great rack.

Nathaniel: I know. Who can blame Isaac Mizrahi for getting the grabsies? Scarlett aside, who are your favorite actors and actresses?

Rich: God, I feel stoned when answering these questions. I never think about these things. Well, rarely. Samantha Morton is probably my favorite working actress. I'd watch her sleep. Sharon Stone seems to adore chewing up cheap and nasty scenery, so props to her. Basically anyone in the whole Christopher Guest pool of talent is great -- I hasten to isolate any, as they're more powerful together as a machine. Comedic Voltron, they are (though as trite as it is for a gay man to say, Parker Posey really, really is worth watching no matter what). After Hustle & Flow, Terrence Howard will always have a place in my heart. Oh, and any of the Jacksons. They're always fun to watch play pretend, though it's usually not in movies.

Nathaniel: Good choices. But Rich, if you rarely think about these things in relation to movies, what do you find yourself thinking about (cinematically speaking)

Rich: I guess I do think about these things, but generally only in relation to the film at hand (i.e., do I believe/am I moved by the actor right now?). And then, I'm also just as concerned with theme and aesthetic. I guess I'm often thinking of the bigger picture, but not the bigger bigger picture in terms of how a given film applies to cinema overall. This means, for example, that I never come up with year-end Top 10 lists. There are exceptions to my inability to apply what I watch, of course (I think Mysterious Skin is a better asset to queer cinema than Brokeback Mountain), but I'm maybe less intellectual than I'd like to be.

Another thing that I look for is singularity -- is the movie saying something original and/or is the movie presenting what it has to say in an original way? There's so much noise in the world. I don't have much respect for those who readily join the chorus.

Nathaniel: Multiple Choice: Who would you most love to see hosting the Oscars? Tyra Banks, Bobby & Whitney, or Janice Dickinson?

Rich: This may be the toughest question I've ever been asked in my life. Not Janice -- I love her and all, but 30 minutes is too much of her, let alone a 3+ hour ceremony. I think I have to go with Tyra here -- while I'd love nothing more than to see Bobby and Whitney together onstage, you never know how huge of a trainwreck they're going to turn into. Their display could just end up being sad, more than anything. Tyra is just reliably stupid and goofy. She's a clown for our times and god damn it, I love her for that.

Nathaniel: They make a movie of your life. What's the title? Who plays you? What's the title? What's the rating?

Rich: I'd want a movie of my life to be a porno parody of a Miyazaki movie -- something equally sweet and nasty. Spirited A-Gay or Rich's Moving Penis. Since there'd be wall-to-wall sex, I think I'd have to elect to play myself -- if I've gotten to the point where someone wants to make a movie of my life, I think I've earned the right my own on-camera sex.

Nathaniel: Spirited A-Gay I love it. Thank you Rich.

Once again readers, check out Rich's deservedly popular blog "fourfour" You'll be addicted within a post or two.


Also in this interview series:
The Gilded Moose * Jay Lassiter * Dylan Meconis * Martha @ Cinematical * ultranow * fourfour * six things * Gallery of the Absurd * How to Learn Swedish in 1000 Difficult Lessons * Ron L'Infirmier * Thomas & Co.

Film Experience Greatest Hits (for newbies):
Far From Heaven vs. Brokeback Mountain * She's a Bitch (@ the Movies) * A History of... Sharon Stone

Tags: movies, cinema, fourfour, Janice Dickinson, film, Project Runway, Jay Hernandez, Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Samantha Morton, Ghost World, Hayao Miyazaki, Mysterious Skin, Parker Posey, horror, Sharon Stone, Scarlett Johansson

Matt, Rupert, Terrence, Michael, and Justin.

It's been six years since American Psycho premiered and I still feel ashamed that I find Christian Bale so freaking sexy in it. But never mind. I only use this as illustration. Though it does relate (tangentially)

As promised the Actors of the Aughts countdown resumes today. Click there to read about the latest adds to the list:

Ross, Everett, Howard, Hitchcock, and Theroux.

For those keeping track that's two more American Psycho alums (The man himself, Christian Bale, will show up as well, sillies, but not for a good. long. while.)

"Portraits of 26"

Tomorrow's New York Times Magazine has a great portfolio of "26 actors who made the films of 2005 so memorable."

11 Oscar Nominees Made It: Amy Adams, George Clooney (cover boy), Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Terrence Howard, William Hurt, Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, and Reese Witherspoon.

16 Snubees Made Their List: Ziyi Zhang (for 2046 not Memoirs, thank you very much), Birol & Sibel (Head On, who you'll see in my FB Awards too), Nathalie Press & Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love), Shirley Maclaine (In Her Shoes who gets a two page spread), Viggo Mortenson (A History of Violence), Vera Farmiga (Down to the Bone), Bill Murray (Broken Flowers), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin), Deep Roy (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory), Eric Bana (Munich), Penelope Cruz (Don't Move), Jeff Daniels (Squid and the Whale), and Daniel Day-Lewis (The Ballad of Jack & Rose).

Best Actor Commonalities

Since the 5th slot for Best Actor seems to be a tight race between Russell Crowe who is doing very well in the precursors but lacks as much fresh "buzz" as his rivals Terrence Howard, Jeff Daniels, and even the last-minute surge from theConstant Gardener himself, Ralph Fiennes ... let's look at the possibly meaningless (?) statistics from the past 5 years of Oscar (that's 25 nominees for the math-challenged) to see who most benefits.

Average age of nominees in this category:
46. The youngest recently was Adrien Brody (The Pianist @ 29) and the oldest Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby @ 74). 2005's Oscar bunch looks to be the youngest in some time (more on that here). Who is closest to the average age this year? Fiennes (The Constant Gardener) is 43. Next closest in both directions are Crowe (Cinderella Man) @ 41 and the never-nominated Daniels (Squid and the Whale) hoping for some career achievement 'thank yous' at 50.

Most common roles:
01. Creative types (writers being the most frequent sort) compose 36% of this category's recent nominees. That might give a leg up to Jeff Daniels in The Squid and the Whale but it didn't help Michael Douglas, also playing a blocked formerly celebrated writer five years ago. It might also suggest that Terrence Howard's music dreams in Hustle & Flow might play resonantly to voters.
02. Physical or Mental Ailments of Significant Magnitude also score with voters. That matches up with 20% of the nominees. Surprisingly none of the contenders go that Oscar-bait route this year.
03 Grieving dads suffering the loss of children or spouse account for 16% of nominees. If you extend that to include characters fighting to keep their children alive/with them or those with deep regrets at lost relationships with their children the number expands to a weighty 28% of nominees. The most grief stricken of our possible nominees is Ralph Fiennes having lost his wife and unborn child in the first few minutes of The Constant Gardener. Both Jeff Daniels and Russell Crowe also get to milk emotions both complex (former) and overtly sentimental (latter) from the fear of losing their family.

Does it help to play an actual person, living or dead?
Does it ever. They make up nearly 50% of the nominations in this category. There was only one year recently without real figures. In 2003 all of the nominees played fictional characters. Not so surprisingly the corresponding snubbed actors were also playing fictional characters. To stand a chance in this category, you better be aping a real person...preferrably a famous one. The only fifth slot competitor playing a real characer? Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man.

Commonalities of Snubs ?
To understand the Oscars you have to have context of the year and the other people Academy voters could have selected. So, who, in recent years seemed like the 6th or 7th slotters (list below indicates precursor support and media attention followed by Oscar snub)? And why did they miss out?

2000 Michael Douglas Wonder Boys and Jamie Bell Billy Elliot
2001 Gene Hackman The Royal Tenenbaums , Ewan MacGregor Moulin Rouge! , and John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch , and Billy Bob Thornton in either Monsters Ball or The Man Who Wasn't There
2002 Richard Gere Chicago
2003 Russell Crowe Master & Commander
2004 Paul Giamatti Sideways and Liam Neeson Kinsey

Aside from the fact that nearly all of the snubs are fictional characters and most are in comedies, is there anything else that connects them? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Reminder: My final predictions have begun...Best Picture and Best Actor. And previously: Best Actress Commonalities because I can't stop. But you knew that already, didn't you?