Once More Into the Link

I have barely been on the internet these past several days and sadly, I can't do much today either. Hopefully pre-holiday I'll get some capsule reviews up. So, this morning I've quickly scoured the 'sphere to offer up some linkage to get you thru (...should you need distraction. Lord knows, I always do)

there's no people like show people
Ellen Burstyn is mixing her pills again. Here she is mouthing off about how Broadway "sucks" and TV has destroyed the movies. Hee.
Man With Towel I love that my movie meme is going to places I've never been. And this one is hilarious. But hey, nobody has tagged me to answer my own meme yet ;)
Cinematical on tentpole schedules for 2007 & 2008 (yeah)
Stranger Song "New Blue Eyes" -- on Casino Royale
pfangirl "One Sexy Mother" on 2007's most inspiring event: The Return of PFEIFFER.

"what about me?"
Vote For Me if you haven't already, please vote for the film experience at the Verve Weblog Awards. Polls close soon.

not about movies but worth a read
Artifacts on "The Christmas Rush" Sex & The City, entitlement, shopping, and more...

Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature
The films in contention for the coveted shortlist are: Iraq in Fragments, An Inconvenient Truth, My Country, My Country, The War Tapes, The Ground Truth, Deliver Us From Evil, Jesus Camp, Shut Up and Sing, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Blindsight, Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?, Jonestown: The Life and Death of People's Temple, Sisters in Law, Storm of Emotions and An Unreasonable Man.

Yes, it's a whole lotta Iraq. The Gore film (...Truth) is excellent and unfortunately the only one I've seen. I'm too scared of Jesus Camp (personal childhood brainwashing reasons) but I do hope to see Shut Up and Sing soon. [the list I got from reel fanatic]

Monologue Monday: Thanksgiving!

Who better to kick off this short work week than Christina Ricci, who my friends and I long ago dubbed "Queen of Thanksgiving Trickery." Her career seems strangely off the track but it was delicious all throughout the 1990s, the decade in which she delivered, not one, but two eviscerating cinematic speeches skewering this week's classic American holiday.

We'll kick it off with the hilarious Addams Family Values "White Meat! And Dark Meat! Take it awaaaayyyy..."

Wait, we can not break bread with you.

You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans, and drink highballs. We will sell our bracelets by the road sides, and you will play golf, and eat hot h'ors d'ourves. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts.

The gods of my tribe have spoken. They said do not trust the pilgrims ... especially Sarah Miller. And for all of these reasons I have decided to scalp you and burn your village to the ground.
~Christina Ricci as "Wednesday Addams" in Addams Family Values (1993). Screenplay by Paul Rudnick.

If that scene alone didn't earn Ricci as a Thanksgiving hall of fame, than consider its companion piece four years later in The Ice Storm in which Ms. Ricci drop kicks the festivities again:

Dear Lord, thank you for this Thanksgiving holiday. And for all the material possessions we have and enjoy. And for letting us white people kill all the Indians and steal their tribal lands. And stuff ourselves like pigs, even though children in Asia are being napalmed.
~Christina Ricci as "Wendy Hood" in The Ice Storm (1997). Written by James Schamus from the book by Rick Moody.

Jesus. Didn't Joan Allen and Kevin Kline (her screen parents) watch Addams Family Values? This is not a young woman who you trust with a family prayer at Thanksgiving.

FWIW, let me just add this: Christina Ricci deserved Oscar nominations for both of those performances, her two greatest. That's my opinion and I've stuck with it ever since I first laid eyes on both the wickedly funny former and the wicked but subtly wounded latter. Fine stuff from a gifted actor.

Tags: actors, cinema, Academy Awards, Christina Ricci, Addams Family, film, movies, film, Thanksgiving

Ms. Foster If You're Nasty

America's favorite stealth lesbian turns 44 today. Please wish her a happy birthday or include her in your prayers, like, "Dear Lord please help Jodie out of those confined yet thrilling spaces she finds herself in --be it banks, panics rooms, serial killer basements, or airplanes. Let her breathe fresh air again!" or my personal favorite incantation "Dear Lord, can't you do anything about Flora Plum? Jesus! I mean, er... Amen!"

Jodie Foster is on my mind because I just put up a new poll on the main site. "20 Years of Best Actress" --who is your favorite winner? Jodie is one of two doubled options in the past two decades. You know who the other one is. I'd rather not say the infernal name aloud lest I inadvertently summon the demonic one. That's how it works right? Oh god... don't tell me they can appear if you just type their name, can they? s**t i'm in big trouble

Before I turn off the computer for the evening a final note of grace, three of them actually:


There, captured for all time in Vanity Fair, is the one moment in time where I actually wanted to be Jodie Foster. You can guess why. Meg Ryan is also pictured. It's her birthday today, too! She needs your prayers more... but where to begin with that one? Honestly.

previous Jodie posts Actors Stuck in Ruts Foster, Kidman, Moore, etc... * Gilded Moose Interview The Moose loves his Jodie thrillers * Say What? Brave One silly captions * A History of... Jodie Foster the secrets of Jodie's life

tags: Jodie Foster, Meg Ryan, movies, lesbian, celebrities, best actress, Oscars, Academy Awards

I've Got Sunshine... and Oscar Predictions

Before Thanksgiving hits and brings with it much holiday madness & movie watching along with festive face stuffing & belt loosening, I thought I'd update the ol' Oscar prediction pages. This is my final pre-precursor guesswork. I presume you all know how this works: Once December hits about 97 organizations (a slight exaggeration, yes) and 500+ critics (not an exaggeration) start issuing their proclamations of "BEST OF THE YEAR!"

I love this process. I loathe this process. 'If only everyone had my good taste,' he says with (half) a straight face.

Oscar voters, though they live in industry bubbles, presumably absorb this "BEST OF THE YEAR!" information and are --to arguably varying degrees-- influenced by it. At the very least it informs the overall media-soaked climate in which they selfishly go about choosing their favorites: a 6000+ person process wherein people like Dakota Fanning, Sally Kirkland, Ron Howard and Jamie Foxx personally destroy desperate hopes of awardage for your favorites by discarding them for theirs. It's a public process about a personal thing: taste in film.

Every year about this time about three of the eventual five nominees in any given category are already widely agreed upon, usually due to a happy combo of box office, buzz, and perceptions of quality. The final two slots always seem up for grabs until the precursors begin to do their sometimes volatile winnowing work, a nightmarish or fantastical process (depending on what you like and how well it's doing) wherein everyone shouts "pick me! pick me! pick me!" and then: the picking.

Today I've been tempted to pick Little Miss Sunshine. I'm not sure how much good campaigns and swag have to do with overall affection for a given performer or movie but they do have short term effects if you're human (and honest). For example: When this little minivan (pictured left) arrived in my mailbox the other day, I felt a teensy new wave of affection for Little Miss Sunshine wash right over me... and it's not even one of my favorite films of the year! (Please note Sunshine fans: I did enjoy. Just not as much as you)

There I was, a casual liker, suddenly feeling like a true fan. That is the potential power of sweet spot hitting campaigns and promotion. Fox Searchlight has done a great job keeping Little Miss Sunshine in play (and in theaters) and it's starting to look like it just might pay off.

Here are the new Oscar predictions in all categories along with (mostly) new or revised commentary: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor and other delectable things like Best Costume Design, Foreign Films, Screenplays and other Visual and Aural categorical delights.

If you look forward to my Oscar coverage each year please consider donating to the site. It's free to read but it isn't free to operate.

Things will heat up (for real with the first wave of precursors) very soon so take this time now to dream, however improbably, about your personal favorites making the shortlists. Discuss your dreams and fears for this awards season in the comments.

tags: Academy Awards, movies, Oscars, Hollywood

Say What? Morgan

Thanks for amusing us with captions and dialogue to this still from 10 Items Or Less starring Morgan Freeman. The winner is snowleopard


Come to think of it this post definitely looks like a 'Mr. Daisy' ...it's a little... flowery, if you catch my drift.


ohh... it's late and I've been staring at Daniel Craig for hours. my apologies. we love you Morgan.

Guess the Golden Globes (Pt. 2)

OK. Let's discuss the movie stars. That's the whole goddamn raison d'etre of awards shows anyway, right? Help me in the comments and over the weekend, I'll update my Oscar Predictions. Ready... Set... Globe.

Best Actor
I'm bored already!


I kid. Sort of. But at least the Globes will shed some light on this relatively tepid year for lead actors. What is going on? It's 2003 only without the holy trinity of Depp, Penn, and Murray? I've bolded what I think would be my predictions today. Feel free to quibble in zee comments.

Drama: Nicolas Cage (World Trade Center), George Clooney (The Good German), Matt Damon (The Good Shepherd), Leonardo DiCaprio (The Departed --my theory is that people will wise up soon about Blood Diamond and their attention will revert back to the earlier film), Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson), Jude Law (Breaking and Entering), Derek Luke (Catch a Fire), Jack Nicholson (The Departed), Peter O'Toole (Venus), Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness), Forrest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland)

Musical/Comedy: Woody Allen (Scoop), Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Johnny Depp (Pirates 2), Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors), Aaron Eckhard (Thank You For Smoking), Will Ferrell (Stranger Than Fiction), Jamie Foxx (Dreamgirls), Gregg Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine), Robin Williams (Man of the Year)

I'm not completely serious about some of the bolded names. But I just can't figure where all these nominations are going to go in a weak year for men...

Best Actress
This is where it gets really interesting... Early on in the year Oscar's Best Actress category was looking to be unusually competitive. But since then, Helen Mirren (The Queen) has emerged as your every other year or so "unbeatable frontrunner." Yet, since the Globes have two separate categories, all sorts of fun & glamorous things could happen for Hollywood's female stars. The big question, from my way of looking at it, is how or if the HFPA members will find room for all four of their oft-favored pets: Scarlett Johansson, Annette Bening, Renée Zellweger, and Nicole Kidman. These women are looking less and less like true factors in the actual Oscar race but should you underestimate their appeal to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association? Probably not.


Drama: If you believe the groupthink buzz on Oscar's eventual lineup you've got four strong leaders: Cate Blanchett (The Good German), Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal), Helen Mirren (The Queen), and Kate Winslet (Little Children). BUT... with the Globes you never really know. They've been known to throw major curves. Plus there's still one free spot even if they don't.

Since they love movies stars who knows where this spot could go? Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette --UPDATE: campaigning for a comedy/musical spot apparently)? Nicole Kidman (Fur)? --she is a favorite, Ashley Judd (Come Early Morning) ? --they gave her a surprise nod for De-Lovely, or a rising star like Maggie Gyllenhaal (Sherrybaby), Gretchen Mol (Notorious Bettie Page) or Sienna Miller (Factory Girl). Who knows... maybe they'll take David Lynch up on his crazy ass FYC campaign for Laura Dern (Inland Empire). Remember how crazy this category was for the Globes in 2003?

Whaddya think readers? Do they kiss Kidman's ass again or look elsewhere? Could this be the only place Dunst scores --or will they accept the comedy designation? Could Maggie continue her rise through the actress ranks? Might the Globes snub one of the four leaders?

Musical/Comedy: I think you can probably ink in nominations for Annette Bening (Running With Scissors) and Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada) but beyond the Hollywood royalty there are a lot of possibilities. Beyoncé (Dreamgirls) seems obvious BUT there's the Jennifer Hudson factor to consider. Might they pull a Chicago and nominate both of them as leads? They were both leads @ the TONYs when Dreamgirls was on Broadway?

But if Hudson goes supporting (Where Oscar'll probably put her) we still have two spots available. Penelope Cruz (Volver) is all the rage at the moment and easy to see as a nominee --UPDATE: But though the film is a tragicomedy, it's apparently being sold to the Globe voters as a drama! Hmmmm. You can't really ink her in. Both Scarlett Johansson (Scoop) and Renée Zellweger (Miss Potter) are like finely cut cocaine to Globe voters so both of them could muscle their way in. There's the Christmas timed comedy The Holiday with two contenders (Winslet again and Cameron Diaz) and then there's the real possibility of Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine) or Catherine O'Hara (For Your Consideration) here. Because, sometimes... only sometimes... the Globes rule.

YOUR THOUGHTS?

Guess the Golden Globes (Pt. 1)

The following are not final GG predictions but talking points. I'm updated the Oscar predictions over the weekend, so help me clear my head and winnow out the weak candidates with your comments on the Globes (everyone join hands, wheeee) The acting categories will come in part two. Let's discuss the films for now. OK? Go.

Best Picture
Unless the Globe voters cheat (and they might... the precursor voting bodies love to overshoot the traditional five-wide categories so as to be more predictive of Oscar: see also The Broadcast Film Critics Association-- or better yet: don't.) For the five dramatic slots you're looking at some combo of Babel, Bobby, The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, The Good German, The Good Shepherd, The Last King of Scotland, Little Children, Notes on a Scandal, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Queen, World Trade Center, and United 93. I've put my current guesses in bold. Am I forgetting any viable contenders?

I know that Children isn't anywhere close to a sure thing but when have the Globes ever gone completely obvious for all five slots? The Globes do more thinking for themselves than some other groups so you might see a major shut-out a la Crash last year. I'm rooting against the meandering lukewarm bait of WTC and Flags --the Globes need to put these films in their place (that'd be out of the running) since it's easy to picture other predictive precursors biting. If we could forever rid awards voting bodies of their tendency to give extra points to subject matter and get them to focus on individual movie quality, awards season would be so very different, would it not?


The musical or comedy division is less likely to surprise with Borat, The Devil Wears Prada, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine looking lock-ish for 80% of the category. That fifth slot will probably go to either Stranger Than Fiction, or, people are saying, Thank You For Smoking. But if they're reaching back that far, early in the year, maybe it'll be Prairie Home Companion since it holds the musical advantage? They could also go self-reflexive cutesy and vote for awards-season skewering For Your Consideration. Or maybe a children's animated film: Cars, Happy Feet? In my fantasy awards season (the one that never comes to be *sigh*), we see a Shortbus nomination! Ha ha. Could you imagine? But not even the Globes are that crazy.

Best Director
Since foreign language pictures aren't eligible for the Best Picture categories at the Globes here is where we'll get our first inkling of whether or not Almodovar's Volver or Yimou's The Curse of the Golden Flower can generate any traction outside of certain media drooling for their leading knockouts (Penelope Cruz and Gong Li, respectively).



Those two foreign auteurs will have to battle it out with other heavyweights like Eastwood (Flags) Field (Little Children), Greengrass (United 93), Innaritu (Babel), Stone (World Trade Center) and Soderbergh (Good German) for only two slots. Why only two? Well, I don't think Condon (Dreamgirls), Frears (The Queen) and Scorsese (The Departed) have anything to worry about, do you?

Your comments are welcome. More than welcome actually... there are so many variations possible in November. It's in that first week of December that hopeful movies start falling into permanent history book exile, the golden statues heavy on their minds: a last futile dying wish.

(it's going to be a long awards season)

Hump Day Hotties: "Bond, James Bond"

OK... Craig, Daniel Craig. He's been a Hump Day Hottie before (me love him long time) but I thought I'd shill for the new Bond film today. Now, normally I wouldn't lazily throw up a big promotional still for a movie and call it a post. And certainly not for a big studio effort that didn't need a wee bit of bloggy support. But this is an historic occassion. You see this will be the first Bond film I have seen since 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies. I figured that deserved mentioning.


And it's worth noting that I only saw the 1997 episode of Bond, James Bond for its Bond Girl. I knew Michelle Yeoh would kick all kinds of ass therein. Casino Royale is the first Bond film I'm seeing for James Bond himself since, well, ever! I wasn't alive during the Sean Connery heyday but I'll admit to loving Octopussy (with Roger Moore) when I was a wee lad. Maybe I just liked saying the title?

Previously in my obsession with Daniel Craig...

Previous Hump Day Hotties: Brad Pitt golden über hotness and exhibitionist tendencies * Qi Shu & Chen Chang 3 times is not enough * Jamie Dornan & Asia Argento burning up Versailles * James McAvoy randy king of Scotland * Naomie Harris pretty chameleon * Hot on TV from "Agent Cooper" to "Faith" * Channing Tatum steppin' up and out * Hugh Jackman dancer, mutant, god * Uma Thurman 18 years of hotness. * Cheyenne Jackson Broadway to Hollywood * Season One of HDH Gyllenhaal, Li, Bernal, etc...

Tags: Daniel Craig, movies, James Bond, film, 007, hunk, cinema

#99 Rope

This post is my entry for the Hitchcock Blog-a-Thon hosted by The Film Vituperatem as well as the next installment of my personal canon: "movies i think about when i think about the movies"

Alfred Hitchcock served as auteur-theory training wheels for me. I doubt I'm alone in this. Perhaps it's the confines of his chosen genre that throw his presence into such unmistakable relief. Or maybe it's his celebrity, cultivated through that famous profile, press-baiting soundbites, celebrated fetishes, and television fame. But what it comes down to is this: When watching a Hitchcock film, even uneducated moviegoers, even movie-loving children can wake up suddenly to the notion of the man behind the curtain. Movies do not merely exist. They are built. The realization can be thrilling: Someone is actually choreographing this whole spectacle for my amusement!

And on the subject of choreography I give you Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. I gave myself Rope, actually, it being the first Hitchcock I sought on my own as a budding film fanatic. 'Let's see what else this man behind the curtain, this wizard, can do.' In this case what he could do was quite a lot. Though Rope obviously represented a complex coordinated puzzle for the filmmaking team, the plot is unusually simple. Two former prep school mates kill a third for the thrill of it (this is no spoiler, just the opening scene). They chase their "perfect murder" with a cocktail party to which they've invited the victim's loved ones.

Phillip (Farley Granger) and Brandon (John Dall), the guilty homos of Rope !

The film's claim to fame for whatever meager fame it has managed --and I'd argue that that's disproportionate to the elaborately perverse buffet it serves up as well as its pivotal place in the director's career (first color film, first post-fame failure, second attempt at a confined space thriller, a form which would reap perfection for the auteur on his third attempt: Rear Window, 1954) -- comes from Hitchcock's formal experimentation. For Rope he uses one camera, one set and only nine actors. And then, here's the famous part: He films it all in one continuous shot. Or thereabouts --there are five or six noticeable edits (and a few more I'm told) but why quibble? Jimmy Stewart's reliably grounding charisma aside, Hitchcock is Rope's true movie star and Rope's continuous shot is the mythmaking close-up. It just happens to be stretched across the entire 80 minutes.

Read the rest ...

for more on the power of the uninterrupted camera shot and the queer baiting antics of Rope.

Link Parade: Tilda, Carole, Hugh & Nicole

SF360 Hollywood does still have rebel forces. Tilda Swinton reminds us she's still Derek Jarman's girl, with this amazing speech [src]
Coming Soon talks with Hugh Jackman: The Fountain, the new Bazmark (yay!) and Wolverine
Cinefille pays tribute to Julie Andrews. SAG will, too
NY Times asked comedic stars to choose their five favorite funny films. The answers skew very contemporary as if these famous folks haven't realized their genre has been in a free fall since the 1930s [src]
WOW Dylan bitches about gay filmmakers' internalized homophobia. It comes out in the casting
Towleroad Carol Channing's publicist struggles to protect the base
Film Ick has photos of the daemon stand-ins from The Golden Compass as well as a nice shot of Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter (not Ann, but still fairly evil)

Isn't Every Day "Annette Bening Day"?

Fans,

It's Annette. No, no. Please sit. I was in a terrible mood last time I dropped by and for that I, well I --oh, consider my anger a blessing. It's not everyday a movie star acknowledges you! But I'm feeling much much better this week... star struck if you will. Thank you! Now, on to business.

Links that amuse The Bening
Hollywood Stars I know that millions of you wanted to attend my walk of fame ceremony but you can watch the video here since you were too poor to fly in. I'm beautiful in white. Oh and please know that you are welcome at any time here in Hollywood --that star will need a good polish.
Ericka, a fan like you, also has video and photos of "Annette Bening Day"
The Sun -my very favorite story of 2006! I can read it daily.
Gatochy has a beautiful appreciation of my Oscar-winning (oh, shut up!) performance in American Beauty. Just ignore the typo at the beginning where she says she was "never a fan" ...honestly, it's called proofreading, Gatochy!

I am NOT amused!
Cinephilia. It's one thing to obsess about my husband. Understandable. A sign of good character. Hormonally correct one might say. It's quite another to eavesdrop on highly personal phone calls.
Fame Tracker. Jealous Haters! At least they got my profession correct.

In fact, while I'm brightening your day by visiting, I've gone one step further and am illustrating my displeasures with Stephen Colbert's popular web delight, the On Notice Board generator.


until next time subjects,

Ms. Bening

tags: Annette Bening, movies, celebrities, Warren Beatty, Oscars, Hollywood

#100 Apocalypse Now

Time to kick off that Personal Canon "100 Movies I Think About When I Think About The Movies" Countdown. We begin with a reworking of an article some of you may recall from about a year ago...

Most serious war films that have arrived in the last quarter-century, and probably any to come in the next twenty-five years, find themselves judged in relation to Francis Ford Coppola's classic Apocalypse Now (1979). Certainly any movies that plunge into the psychic anguish of war risk the comparison. Some, like Jarhead (2005), acknowledge this debt upfront...though that technique hardly rescues them from harsh correlative appraisals.

Despite the fact that most new films are deemed unworthy to breathe the canonized air of Apocalypse Now, I doubt that the film would receive the same shower of affection were it released today...

READ THE REST...

If you don't know what I'm counting down or why, you missed the introduction describing the "canon". (The whole list will eventually be indexed there at that intro page)

Monologue Monday: "Patrick Bateman"

My name is Patrick Bateman. I am twenty-six years old. I live in the American Garden Buildings on West Eighty-First Street, on the eleventh floor. Tom Cruise lives in the penthouse.

I believe in taking care of myself, in a balanced diet, in a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now.

After I remove the icepack, I use a deep pore-cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser, then a honey-almond body scrub, and on the face an exfoliating gel scrub. Then I apply an herb mint facial masque which I leave on for ten minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine.

I always use an after-shave lotion with little or no alcohol because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm, followed by a final moisturizing "protective" lotion...

There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping you and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.

Christian Bale delivers exquisite chill right from the start of American Psycho. It's not the type of achievement that Oscar recognizes but damned if it wasn't award worthy. How many actors can thrill with narration alone?

Tags: actors, cinema, Academy Awards, Christian Bale, American Psycho, film, movies

Actors Stuck In Ruts

In the 1980s people used to joke that Meryl Streep would eventually learn every accent in the world, thus coming to represent all foreign peoples to American moviegoers. Which actors today are working one groove repeatedly? And are they dulling their creative blades by doing so?

• Julianne Moore loves playing mommy to dead / imaginary / missing / abandoned children. (Boogie Nights, World Traveller, The Hours, The Forgotten, Freedomland, The Children of Men)
• Sarah Michelle Gellar is remaking J Horror films (The Return, The Grudge)
  
• Jodie Foster keeps finding thrills in confined spaces (Panic Room, Flight Plan, Inside Man)
• Nicole Kidman has an affinity for doomed creative-types (Moulin Rouge!, The Hours, Fur) and she's also bad bad news for the men in her (onscreen) life. Ever noticed how many dead or doomed husbands/lovers she's piling up in that filmography? (My Life, To Die For, The Others, Dogville, Cold Mountain, Birth, etcetera.)
  

Can you think of any other actors beating a peculiar and particular dead horse? Bitch about it in the comments.

Personal Canon: A Top 100

Here I go again. I love a good project and this one is a doozy. I will be counting down 100 Movies I Think About When I Think About the Movies: A Personal Canon. You may recall I tried this once before but this time I'm serious. I need something juicy to sink my teeth into whenever the upcoming Oscar season bores --it does on occassion: Oscar excitement, buzz, and news tends to come in waves rather than steady drops from right about now through the big night in February.

So herewith a few thoughts about the project.



This list is NOT

• A greatest films of all time list. That list... well, I know you want it, but the truth is this: I see 100 newish movies a year and so it takes me a while to work my way back through the classics. I have seen a lot of movies in my life but I'm particularly weak on the 1940s and 1960s. I haven't seen enough films yet to do such a list. Ask me again in 2008. If I think a film is great (qualitatively) but I have no particular feeling for it outside of respect then it won't be here. The Godfather, for example, tops a lot of Top 100 Lists but it won't be on mine. It is great, yes. No argument here. But, because I am not personally attached to it, it's missing. Understand?
• Set in stone. Expect revisions in years to come (provided I am still writing about movies in years to come. And I hope to be. Donate!)
  

What is this list, then?

• It is a list of 100 films that I have some sort of deeper than usual relationship with. The original impetus for the list came years ago when Cinemarati asked its members to compile their top 100s under the heading "Movies I Think About When I Think About the Movies" Hence: "A Personal Canon." In some cases --let's say approximately 50% of the list --they'd also be on a list of "greatest movies of all time that I've seen"
  

How was it compiled?

1. I looked at charts of everything I've seen and loved.
   
2. I eliminated short films, television series, documentaries, and then (this is the sad part) any feature film from the past ten years. New movies have an unfair advantage being so fresh in the memory. And, for all the conjecture in the world, you really don't know how you'll feel about them in 10 years. Plus they get a lot of attention here and everywhere else anyway...
   
3. I looked again at a list of everything I've seen from 1915 to 1997 and picked about 200 movies.
   
4. I eliminated things I greatly respect but don't particularly love. Or flicks I love but didn't feel like watching again.
5. I put them in order of affection / meaning / greatness to me. An excruciating process. If you ask me again tomorrow the order would change.
   
   

What you should do with the list

• Read it. Enjoy it. Laugh at it. Praise it. Scratch your head at it in confusion. Whatever. "lick it up baby, lick it up" (Yes Heathers will be on the list)
  
• Use it for rental ideas.
  
• Comment on it. Everything is better if its participatory.
  

The list kicks off on Monday November 13th. I'll put a couple of movies up each week. If I've written reviews of them previously, there could be reruns (but most entries will be brand new)

* Oh, and before I get started... I should thank Nick who trailblazed the way with his non-greatest but 'movies I most love to love' list, a highly entertaining and diverse collection.

Lotta Linkage

nicole
Daily Gut Kidman's FIVE TIPS to finding Mr. Right
The Evening Class an interview with Steven Shainberg on Fur. Interesting stuff.

not nicole
popbytes The BENING gets her star on walk o fame! I'll make a pilgrimage.
Defamer Lynch fycs Laura Dern in Ingland Empire
Cinematical on a new fantasy franchise. I've read some Xanth --bad idea.
Backstage on a French adaptation of Persepolis, the graphic novel with the voices of Catherine Deneuve! and Gena Rowlands!
ModFab finally gets tagged for my movie meme. I'm so proud of it! such interesting responses everywhere. I hope it continues to spread like a happy non-fatal plague...

group discussion!
Zoom In asks "what's the best coming of age movie?" --go on over there to discuss. Off the top of my head I'm gonna go with votes for Breakfast Club on account of I was obsessed in high school and considered it perfect and TRUE back in 1985! Y Tu Mama Tambien because I find it magical and also sad in an adult beyond all this way -- the coda wipes me out. And finally I have to bow down to Reality Bites which is highly underappreciated and which expertly captures the post-college limbo years of "what now?"

We Are All Nicole Kidman

If Nicole Kidman can find the time to be a wildly successful movie star, a new bride, David Thomson's muse, a fine actor, and a mother than certainly you can find the time to take a quiz I prepared especially for this weekend of Nicole goodness (Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus hits theaters today!)


Anyway: The Quiz! You know how it is: You're washing dishes. You're listening to your iPod. You're chatting with friends. But your mind can't help but drift towards that eternal question ...

"Which Nicole Kidman Character Am I, Anyway?"

No more endless pondering. Now, you can know for sure! Tell us who you turned out to be in the comments, and tell your friends about this quiz. Nobody should go through this life never meeting their inner Kidman.

*

are you relatively new to this blog? if so please consider subscribing for daily film experience madness...


or take a peak at some regular features.

tags: Nicole Kidman, movies, quiz

Spidey Sense Is Tingling

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging. I'm trapped under something heavy. But at least we'll have the new Spider-Man 3 trailer to discuss any minute now.

Linker of the House

one more political post and then we're back to celluloid full time

BLUE IS A PRETTY COLOR!
America's progressive citizens are feeling quite cheerful today. And whether or not the other citizens ever admit or even realize it, they'll also reap the benefits of what looks like a small baby step towards a return to sanity for the USofA. All around the blogosphere it's like sunshine and warm fuzzies. Check these out:

Center of Gravitas sums it up with cheeky nicknames. ModFab relives the best moments of his live chat. That chat so much fun I'm thinking of doing one right here at the film experience. What do y'all think? But for what event? Hmmmm. Electronic Cerebrectomy feels hopeful, even in the face of the institutionalized bigotry of 27 states. And speaking of bigotry Catherine's got some words for her home state of Virginia, a bigot's paradise. But before we get too sad there's still more good news. Towleroad covers the record number of GLBT candidates elected. My New Plaid Pants regular feature "today's mood" is a perfect teary eyed inspirational choice. Trading Faces does a happy dance on the "best day ever" and Ameriblog theorizes about the meaning of the power change.

Hump Day Hottie: Brad Pitt

It's now been 15 years since Brad Pitt tipped his cowboy hat in Thelma & Louise and won the heart of Geena Davis and moviegoers the world over. If you thought him just a pretty boy at the time his two decade golden reign o'er the hearts of moviegoers will seem like a shocking turn of events. If, like me, you saw his talent and not just his abs in that 90s classic... you're saying "told ya so." Most cinematic pretty boys don't last for decades but I always knew that Pitt was a Redford and not an Atkins.

That said, I have been a bad fan this month. I haven't seen Babel yet. The reasons are three.

1. I am not crazy about the interlocking gruesome accidents motif of the director. Amores Perros I admired but couldn't really love. 21 Grams I outright hated --more pretentious miserabilism I have never seen.
2. Time permitted only one movie last weekend and Volver was way ahead of the pack.
   
3. All the talk of "Brad's Best Film Performance!" isn't a particularly enticing draw because, you see, I think he's great much of the time and I recognize that many others have willfully remained blind to his talents.... or blinded by his other, um, assetts. And have therefore not been paying close enough attention to determine whether or not anything is his best work. For my money, Babel unseen --I'll get to it this weekend, his best work is found in Fight Club and Se7en.
   
   

In addition to his underappreciated acting skills, Brad skills at mimicry go mostly unnoticed as well. Watch the endless ways in which he becomes the woman he's dating whilst somehow never courting doubt about his sexuality... unlike, say, every other male star in existence. Brad rose to simultaneous fame with his then girlfriend Juliette Lewis in 1991. While he was giving Geena Davis the ride of her life in Thelma & Louise, Juliette was sucking Robert DeNiro's thumb in the nasty and brutal Cape Fear. The couple was an instant hit, both onscreen and off with magazine covers, tabloid coverage, and Oscar appearances. They worked the rebellious Young Hollywood gritty indie angle together. Shortly after their breakup (93/94ish), Lewis stayed edgy but Pitt went truly Hollywood, moving on to an engagement with Gwyneth Paltrow and clean glamour, with matching white blonde bangs! Next came marriage and that golden California crunchy period with Jennifer Aniston. Since then Brad has morphed into a world traveller / philanthropist with the inimitable Angelina Jolie. I should probably mention that Brad no longer mimics his girls look since he's got a son to play matching hairstyles with.

All of this is a long way of saying that Brad Pitt is a great celebrity and certainly the best possible example of a living breathing metrosexual (however tired/overused the description is). In fact, now that I think of it, he's clearly an actressexual, too --like Warren Beatty only more easily domesticated.

But, I'm celebrating Brad mostly because of the onscreen factor --he also rules the celluloid world. One of my favorite quotes about the man comes from an issue of Vanity Fair devoted to him some years back:

The way the camera toured the perky hillocks of Brigitte Bardot's backside in Contempt, it now strokes Brad Pitt's face.

May that omnisexual camera stroke him until he dies. And he may die of very old age with a career as rich and fondly remembered as the Redfords, Lancasters, and Newmans before him.


Mmmmmm, Brad. Thank you for being such a giver. Female stars do it all the time of course, this parading of their sex appeal. It's something of a requirement for their stardom. But for male stars consider: How many big ones, other than Pitt, undress for major magazines regularly? Now contrast that with the number of female stars. Pretty staggering, right? But not for Brad any insecurity or fears about being ogled. Whether he's lying prone, ass out (nsfw) for famed photographers or just flaunting his autoerotic star quality in any number of photoshoots, he lets it all hang out. He didn't authorize those infamous Playgirl shots (obviously, NSFW) but they're not a big leap from his usual and casual exhibition of his own famed physique.

Previously in Pitt Postings:
Brad in Blue That VF Cover * Vampire Blog-a-Thon Brad's orgasmic vamp conversion * Fives a Crowd Brangelina in wax * Melissa Wants Angelina Brad's girls in music videos * Zombie fever Pitt & Clooney's horror project * A History of... Angelina Jolie * Brad #25 Top Actors of Aughts *

Previous Hump Day Hotties:
Qi Shu & Chen Chang 3 times is not enough * Jamie Dornan & Asia Argento burning up Versailles * James McAvoy randy king of Scotland * Naomie Harris pretty chameleon * Hot on TV from "Agent Cooper" to "Faith" * Channing Tatum steppin' up and out * Hugh Jackman dancer, mutant, god * Uma Thurman 18 years of hotness. * Cheyenne Jackson Broadway to Hollywood * Season One of HDH Gyllenhaal, Li, Bernal, etc...

Tags: Brad Pitt, movies, Angelina Jolie, film, metrosexual, hunk, Babel, cinema, Jennifer Aniston, Maddox, celebrities, Brangelina, gossip,

whew

Re: The Election. Not that anythings ever really over --there's still so much to do to fix this country's downward spiral-- but this is a hopeful morning for America. Go Nancy!

Priorities. We Got 'Em.

The top story at CNN: Britney Spears files for divorce. Glad to see they're concentrating on the important stuff this election day.

Quoth 'the boyfriend' in an email I just received:

Forget the elections - here's the real news of the day! What has become of the sacred institution of marriage. This must be clear proof that the evil homosexual agenda has finally destroyed the very fabric of our society...

Dear Readers...

I just got in from voting. I hope my readers in the USA will do the same today. I'm totally nervous because this great nation has shown a strange and confusing six year habit of voting for more of the same (disaster. deficit. war. torture. hate and fear mongering. wealth-coddling. personal freedom infringements. etcetera) rather than asking for change.

Anyway... I apologize for the light / linkheavy posting. I hope to return to normal soon. Normal = cinematic obsessing.

What to look for when I get my mojo back
Oscar Talk -lots of it. Nicole Kidman & Nicole Kidman & maybe some Nicole Kidman. Personal Canon: A Top 100 Movies Countdown (starting from scratch. I'm gonna borrow Nick's approach because I've noticed that I'm far more likely to review films I don't like rather than films I love and that just ain't right!) Thoughts on current releases like Volver, Fur, The History Boys, The Children of Men and more. The completion of the Moulin Rouge! chapter-by-chapter analysis. And the return of most of the popular blog series as well as reader requests.

Don't mind me. I'm just thinking (and hoping) aloud. Carry on with your day.

A Movie Meme

I'm in a horrid mood so rather than bore you with whiny details, I thought I'd force a new silly meme into the blogosphere. I'm pushy and community-oriented like that. Enough with the book memes, ipod shuffles, and god knows what else. MOVIES! I'm tagging the following ten humanoids to answer this bakers dozen of movie-related questions on their own blogs.

Arden, JA, Catherine, Jeffrey, Nick, Javier, Glenn, Rob, Nova, and RC

After which they should tag at least 3 more people to answer it.

1. Popcorn or candy?
2. Name a movie you've been meaning to see forever.
3. You are given the power to recall one Oscar: Who loses theirs and to whom?
4. Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe. Which will it be?
5. Your favorite film franchise is...
6. Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why'd you invite them? What do you feed them?
7. What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?
8. Choose a female bodyguard: Ripley from Aliens. Mystique from X-Men. Sarah Connor from Terminator 2. The Bride from Kill Bill. Mace from Strange Days
9. What's the scariest thing you've ever seen in a movie?
10. Your favorite genre (excluding comedy and drama) is?
11. You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power?
12. Bonnie or Clyde?
13. Who are you tagging to answer this survey?

Link 'til You Can't Link No More

Movies ~ Cinemathematics shares some feelings about the horror genre. Which happen to mirror my own. The Descent and Carrie are discussed.
Cinematical on the strange case of Bug's journey to the silver screen. Will Lionsgate release this thing? You may recall that I am rather obsessed with this movie. Whenever I read about it on the blogosphere I feel like I'm just about the only person who saw the excellent play.
European Films and GreenCine Daily offer up the European Film Award Nominations. A whole lotta love for Volver and The Lives of Others ... which are expected to be battling it out for the Foreign Language Oscar, too.

TV ~After Ellen on the success of Rosie's revamp of The View

Stage ~ MNPP freaks out about the poster for the new stage production of Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe. I love it. See, if you're not into Harry Potter --which I am not-- this is not psychologically damaging at all. It's just, well, disturbing. And all things Equus should be. If you haven't seen the Richard Burton film, you really should. And for a hilarious trip down memory lane here is The Onion's piece on Equus from January.

Gossip ~ Wow on Nicole Retchie. I normally care not a whit about the 'famous for being famous' set. But I thought this post was funny primarily because it made me feel better about my boring-ass job. Seriously now, how much would it suck to be a celebrity publicist? Worst job ever.

Upcoming Blog-a-Thons ~They're exhausting if you host them but if you're a participant or reader, they're informative, enjoyable, and reliable discussion-starters. Blog-a-Thons arriving in the next two months on other blogs (I've done my time in 2006) include:

• Alfred Hitchcock ~November 15th, 2006
• Film Criticism ~ December 1st - 3rd, 2006
• Supporting Actresses of the Year ~January 7th, 2007. StinkyLulu, ever excited by women in the margins, is hosting. He wants one --just one!-- actress from the past year in film highlighted by each participating blog. Sort of a "for your consideration" ad for Oscar voters if you will.
• Contemplative Cinema ~January 8th, 2007

Say What? Bobby Stars

I asked you to entertain me with dialogue for the film still below (from the upcoming Bobby) --a lot of good ones in the comments but I'm going with the two sneakiest responses. It takes a second and then the switch goes to the funny...



congrats to the snowleopard and tomo for makin' with the funny. And mr. goodbar: I love that you found a way to work in Stone's HFPA bribery! Hee.

As for Bobby... I love movies crammed with star parades --even when they're bad they're still fun to watch for their 'where's waldo?' appeal.

Neo Portraiture

I am generally opposed to the biopic, the shapeless and bloated dramaticization of true lives. But what is this new and unusual development? Biopics have been busting out that have no regard for the undramatic principles that have always bound them?



You mean I don't have to watch the person as a child experience an [event, tragedy, talent, accident] that forever shapes (and simplifies) them ? And then I don't have to watch them become famous/infamous/important ? And then I don't have to watch them struggle with addiction, fame, self sabotage, or some "ism"/"phobia" only to (path A) triumph, fade, and then die? (path B) succumb and die? Instead I get to watch characters based on true life characters that feel like fully rounded fictional characters. You mean they're letting writers and auteurs actually write and direct rather than reenact?!?

I'm so confused. Where are my Rays and Gandhis? Where have Frances, Frida, Evita and Kinsey gone? Please stick to the formula, Hollywood! [/sarcasm]

I'm calling this new breed of biopic "neo portraiture" because they just don't feel like the generic biopics that buzz around each year uselessly hogging awards with lazy self importance. The ones who scream "I'm about someone famous. They did something important. They mean something to you. Therefore, so do I!"

Even if the individual films in this new subgenre are far from perfect, even if they aren't fully formed, I love them for trying to find a new way. Here's to the artists painting fresh portraits.

Links, When I'm Lazy

stories
Wired offers "very short stories" --in just six words from famous people. Some of which are completely awesome. My favorite is naturally the one from the almighty Joss Whedon! [src]

movies
New Poll up at the main site. What's your fav Jack Nicholson performance?
Hollywood Elsewhere SPC's Oscar campaign for Curse of the Golden Flower. Their hopes are high. As are mine. I love me some Gong Li and Zhang Yimou (as previously noted)
Zoom-In interviews Spike Lee's frequent editor Sam Pollard. I love reading (and conducting) interviews with editors --maybe it's a personal bias (since I love the process) but they seem like the smartest of film craftsmen.

politics. real life
Pen15 Club on big 'mo Neil Patrick Harris, who is disappointingly trying to reinforce that drafty closet UPDATE: That was his publicist that was trying to shut him in. The former Doogie Howser is now speaking out and is, therefore, out. Good for him. I'm not a big fan of his current show How I Met Your Mother but he was great in the Sondheim revival Assassins recently and too funny in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle as well. His boyfriend is a stage actor who hails from Michigan (like moi) and was superb in the Off Broadway production of Edward Albee's The Play About The Baby. Hopefully they can give Riechen and Lance a run for their money. They're cuter & 100 times more talented!
Center of Gravitas on why you have to vote.
Queerty gets slightly optimistic (sarcastically I hope?) about the GOP. Fueling hatred and reinforcing ignorance is their whole m.o. -- don't be fooled by a gentler news cycle. I mean just last week they were trying to humiliate a beloved celebrity with a disease fer christsakes! VOTE

Vote For Me

With the real elections coming, why not start voting early? I'm nominated for the Verve Weblog Awards in the category of "Best Entertainment Blog" (thanks for your nominating votes. mwah) so go and vote for me! I'm in esteemed and friendly company so I'll be like Meryl Streep cheering Cher on (1987 Oscars, don'cha know) should I fail to take the big prize.

Film Experience buddies ModFab, The Gilded Moose, and popbytes are also up for awards.

Win a Thank You For Smoking DVD

UPDATE: CONTEST IS OVER. The winner is Scott in Australia!

He'll receive a DVD of Thank You For Smoking which stars Aaron Eckhard (woof), Maria Bello (owwooo), Katie Holmes (ew), Rob Lowe (yes, him) among many others including Hollywood's favorite post-Haley Joel Osment creepy child, Cameron Bright --you know him as the mutant who was all mutation killing in X3 and as the creepy object of Nicole Kidman's affection in Birth.

I asked contestants to list their favorite smokin' moment from a film. Here were three of my fav responses:

In Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, the Grim Reaper observes someone smoking and says "I'll see you soon." -Suzanne

I know it's a cliche, but how can the best smoking moment in movie history be that great moment from Now, Voyager ? Bette Davis, sailing forth to seek and find (as Whitman says), and Paul Henreid lighting two cigarettes at once, his way of telling her that he sees her as a woman, in a way no one else has. Glorious. -Aaron

My favorite smoking moment from a movie has to be Faye Dunaway's "Secret Storm" scene in Mommie Dearest. She worked the cigarette prop like a pro and the boy actor struggled to keep up. The scene was about Crawford's desperate need for attention and her jealousy of her sad daughter's meager success, but the sheer lunacy of a screen legend of a certain age playing an coy ingenue on a soap opera made it unforgettable. -Sam

Smoking in real life has lost all of its glamour. It's just icky. But in old movies. Ahhhhh, the awesome cinematic of cigarettes!

I Dream of Kiki

So, last night I dreamt that I was friends with Kirsten Dunst. (Don't laugh, Kiki, that's so unkind) Not just that I met her -- that we were friends! She was reclined on a sofa of some sort, really sprawled out in a casual dress with her hair down, long and relaxed. She's in the middle of the lobby of a movie theater when I walk in.

Kirsten: (all casual / delighted) Hi, Nat. ohmygod. How've you been?

Nathaniel: (instantly confused. How does this movie star know me? And why don't I remember that she does? but externally all cool and casual) Hey, Kiki. I'm good.

Small talk ensues. She starts talking about the last time we were out together and giggling about some inside joke / previous exchange. I pretend to know what she's talking about. Not only am I apparently friends with Kirsten Dunst (in my dreams), I'm also above remembering that I am or at least indifferent to it. In this dream I'm kind of a jerk. (?)

She tells me to ignore the line forming beside us to get into the theater.

Kristen: Oh, that's just my family. Mom, it's OK I know him.

She grabs my arm. I am curiously not thinking about Jake Gyllenhaal as we head into the movie theater.

What's the last dream you had about a movie star?
Spill it in the comments or be haunted by insomnia tonight.

Hump Day Hotties: Qi Shu & Chen Chang

The upcoming fantastical time-travelling epic The Fountain is not the only movie of 2006 with a triptych love story starring two beautiful actors. Earlier this year Hou Hsiao-hsien's Three Times premiered to great acclaim. It arrived on DVD last month so I thought it was a good time to gaze at its stars. Taiwanese sex symbol Qi Shu is the female lead and this film marks her second tour of movie star duty for the acclaimed director. The first was Millenium Mambo, 2001. She and her screen lover, Chen Chang each play three roles in different time frames, though this is no futuristic epic but a meditation on Taiwan's history.

Neither star has what could be considered international name recognition. They haven't reached the remarkable levels of a Ziyi Zhang or a Tony Leung. But they have the first part of the stardom equation covered: familiar faces.

In addition to the serene presence Chen Chang lent Three Times you've seen him in pivotal second tier roles in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (as Ziyi Zhang's desert lover), Happy Together (as Tony Leung's post-heartbreak friend), and in a bit role in 2046.


Tony Leung or Jackie Chan fans will recognize Qi Shu as their romantic sparring partner from the comedies Love Me, Love My Money and Gorgeous respectively. Gorgeous is an apt description, yes? She was also part of the girl power martial arts flick So Close and the object of transport in the Jason Statham action flick The Transporter. A little known fact about Qi Shu: She does not sleep, nor eat, nor even exist outside the movie set. Or if she does any of those things she does them on her lunch breaks since she's found the time to make 54 (you heard me) movies in the past 10 years. And to think I bitched about Cate Blanchett's excessive filming schedule! Qi Shu recently won the Best Actress Golden Horse for her work in Three Times. Though if you ask me, Chen Chang is the MVP, believeable in all three time periods when Shu seemed too modern and inexpressive in the middle story.


I couldn't find much English language material about either actor once I got curious about them. They both spell their names in several different ways which makes it even more difficult to get acquainted with them. For instance. Chang Chen also goes by Zhang Zhen but Zhang Zhen happens to be a professor who wrote an 'amorous history of the silver screen.' Not the same person --though the amorous history discovery is pretty funny considering the amorous feelings Chen can stir in his obsessive fans and tearful Taiwanese actresses. Hee. As for Qi Shu, it's easier to find info on her. There's plenty for salivating fans at this expansive fansite.

Previous HDH Entries:
Jamie Dornan & Asia Argento burning up Versailles * James McAvoy randy king of Scotland * Naomie Harris pretty chameleon * Hot on TV from "Agent Dale Cooper" to "Faith" * Channing Tatum steppin' up and out * Hugh Jackman dancer, fighter, lover, mutant, god * Uma Thurman 18 years of hotness. * Cheyenne Jackson from Broadway to Hollywood * Season One of HDH Gyllenhaal, Gong Li, Bernal, and more...

Tags:
Chen Chang, movies, Qi Shu, film, foreignfilm, Taiwan, Three Times, cinema

Brad in Blue. Jack in the Green.

Things Movie actors I'm thinking about...
Vanity Fair Robert Wilson may be an avant-garde kook but since he can convince Brad Pitt to stand nearly naked in studio rain for Vanity Fair's "Art Issue" who am I to judge. I merely thank. [src]
Hollywood Bitchslap interviews the underappreciated Veronica Cartwright and gets fun details on The Children's Hour, The Birds, and Alien. Goodness this woman has been in a lot of cool films. That ain't the half of it.
Low Resolution Joe is working out his feelings about the Witherspoon / Phillipe split. We'll need to make this a group therapy event to get through...

And finally leaving work yesterday I heard half of a cell phone conversation that perfectly illustrates the "word-of-mouth = box office" equation:

i saw that new jack nicholson last night... yeah... the departed. jack was badass...badass...every self-respecting jack fan has to see it...nicholson and scorsese ...yeah! ...what else do you need?

The Departed has already earned $91 million. By next weekend it'll pass The Aviator's $102 total. Since it's not slowing down much at all, it'll also pass Cape Fear which, if you adjust for inflation, is still Scorsese's biggest hit at the reachable $124.

Those Oscar nominations are beginning to look like easy gets. Oh, and Ellen Burstyn likes it, too.