We Can't Wait #11 Bug

Some of you will remember pieces of this post from last year. Bug played at Cannes in May '06, winning an international critics prize, and was scheduled to arrive stateside in December. Lions Gate mixed up a trailer and then *poof* it was gone from the schedule. But Bug still exists. It's now just marked as "coming soon."

The cropped Avedon photo to your left [NSFW version] ran in the New Yorker back when Bug was a word-of-mouth sensation Off Broadway. What I love about this photo is the way it catches so much of Bug the play; the exposed actors (not just physically, mind you) and the paranoid hostility projected from its insular love affair.

The story of Bug involves a down on her luck woman (Ashley Judd in de-glam mode --calling all AMPAS voters --taking on the role originated by Shannon Cochran, in the photo here) hiding out from her estranged ex-con husband (Harry Connick Jr) and falling in with a sweet stranger (Michael Shannon) who she hopes will protect her. The play starts off grounded and gritty but lifts off into the surreal in the second act. Bug's memorable narrative force might have indeed made for a corker of a film but the intense lunatic vibe of its second half was so rooted in theatricality (and close quarters with the audience) that I scratch my head wondering how William Friedkin transferred it to the screen. I hope he got his 70s Exorcist powers back. Certainly he'll have to go without the nudity the play used effectively. The central duo will have to give extremely naked performances to do full justice to the unraveling souls of Bug.

So what I wanted to ask my blogbuddies is this: If you've seen the play how do you imagine it faring without the nudity? Ashley Judd: true actor or washed up celebrity?

Gabriel: I can comment on the play, which was one of my top ten of the year in 2004. It'll be fine without the nudity...the play is a psychological torment, so what's most important is the sense of claustrophic fear. I love the play, and love that they kept Michael Shannon for the movie...he was amazing on stage. My biggest fear: that Ashley Judd screwed it all up.

Joe: I think Ashley Judd has shown us before that she’s a real actress capable of serious and impressive work. It’s just been a matter, lately, of her not seeking (actively avoiding) quality material. Well, okay, Ash. You’ve made your money. Now it’s back to making movies. I like that this looks like something she can dive right into, creatively.

Lulu: Oooh. Gosh. Golly. What's that scent? Eau de Trainwreque? But I will eat a bug if I turn out to be wrong. (Heard it here first)

Nathaniel: Bon appetit. I doubt we're talking trainwreque ;) the source material is very strong. I'm just worried they didn't do it full justice.

JA: All of my excitement about Bug comes from Nathaniel, and what he's said about the play, so Nat, this one lay totally on you! You better not let me down!

Nathaniel: the pressure. the pressure.

JA: Ashley Judd I have no opinions on, good or bad. The only film I've ever seen her in is Heat and she was in that for maybe 10 minutes of screentime. Then she went and made a 12-hour miniseries where she was a drunk cop tangled up with a murderer and Morgan Freeman, right?

Nathaniel: Something like that, yes. How about the readers: any interest in the psychological horrors of Bug? And your verdict on Ashley Judd as an actor?

previously on "we can't wait"
#12 Sunshine
#13 Southland Tales
#14 300
#15 Hot Fuzz
#16 Stardust
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

tags: Michael Shannon, Bug, Ashley Judd, theater, theatre, Harry Connick Jr

Tuesday Top Ten: Horseplay

In honor of the Indiana Colts (I seriously don't know what the hell I'm talking about but I guess they won some sporting event this weekend ?) ... some equine lovin' on this week's list.

10 Horse-Related Movie/Pop Things You Should Love
Oy, that's an unwieldy list title, forgive. Have you ever ridden a horse? I did once. Just once. It absolutely terrified me, this monstrous thundering beast between my legs. I was completely sore the next day. God, I hated being a Boy Scout.

Anyway, the list...

10. Daniel Radcliffe on stage in Equus. I'm sure you've seen the photos making the rounds. I personally think the uproar is hilarious. He is legal after all (in the UK at least) and you can bet that if it were Hermione in her birthday suit the tongues would still be wagging but for an entirely different reason. Double standards and all.

09. The Last Unicorn. There's a 25th anniversary edition DVD that just came out. The movie is probably a cheesy artifact from the 80s --I haven't seen it since I was a kid sitting in the movie theater so I can't be sure, but I do remember it had an all star voice cast (Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, Jeff Bridges) long before that was required, expected, exorbitantly well paid.

08. Scarlett Johansson. Because she got famous whispering to horses. And because her name is fun for me to type. Shut Up. I'm nerdy like that.

07. The Godfather. Because it's a great movie and because that scene --oh god, that scene --is hella disturbing.

06. "Madonna Rides Again". It's a double jointed entry. Those who hate Madonna can pretend she made the list because she fell off a horse. Those who love Madonna can pretend that she made it due to her famed ability to turn every situation into another success... like that accident becoming a famous equestrian themed photoshoot in W magazine. [cue ancient Madonna song: "I get up again over and over"] It's a totally flexible #6!

05. That scene in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where Legolas flips himself backwards up onto the back of a horse. Mmmm, Legolas

04. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a classic. I've sung its praises before. Have you rented it yet? It actually has nothing to do with horses but I refuse to include any sappy horse movies like the one that stars Spider-Man or the one with Dakota Fanning or the one with Michelle Pfeiffer's daughter from White Oleander as Tim McGraw's daughter.

03. Christie, Independent Filmmaker. Does anyone remember this child prodigy and IFC spokeswoman? So funny.

02. National Velvet because Elizabeth Taylor is one of the great movie stars of all time. She was a champ right from the very beginning. And she's still surprising us today.

01. Pegasus. Because horses should be able to fly and not just in bad 80s movies

Previous Tuesday Top Tens:
Christian Bale from Newsies to American Psycho
Oscar Nominations Talking Points
Alexander(s) The Great
Best 2006 Movies from The Departed (sure) to Marie Antoinette (you heard me)
Movies by Three Amigos Best of Cuarón, González Iñárritu & Del Toro

Tags: Daniel Radcliffe, Elizabeth Taylor,movies, Equus, Madonna, horses, cinema, Film, pegasus

Links, Film Star Edition

Brad Pitt a poem by Aaron Smith "With cotton candy armpits..." pretty great stuff
Zooey Deschanel a greeting from Cinephilia
Dakota Fanning hilarious SNL "talk show" clip
Rupert Everett doing anything on Feb 28th, Aussie readers?
Judy Davis an appreciation by Dan Callahan
Nominees, all of 'em, Hollywood Elsewhere
Editors OK, I know they aint movie stars. But Nick Flicks Picks eloquently argues why they should be...

We Can't Wait #12 Sunshine

The crew of the 'Icarus 2' check out the new Death Star... our sun

Director Danny Boyle has brought us hacksaw wielding London roomates (Shallow Grave) toilet plunging heroin addicts (Trainspotting) Cameron Diaz doing...um.. something (A Life Less Ordinary), American tourists going mad in the tropics (The Beach), Londoners fighting zombies (28 Days Later) and saintly little kids with bags o' money (Millions). Let's just say that filmography is unpredictable. So what is he up to with astronauts and Sunshine?

Any clues?

Gabriel: Not really, but boy, that trailer is gorgeous. Looks like Kubrick or Tarkovsky, high-minded sci-fi. And with Michelle Yeoh in the cast, it's got potential to be incredible.

Nathaniel: Love her. I really thought we'd see more of her after Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon but the career has been sparse.

Joe: Jeez, looking at his filmography, I suppose I shouldn’t be as devoted to the man as I am, but I do believe I’d follow Danny Boyle to the center of the sun. Which is such a coincidence, if you think about it. A compelling sci-fi premise combined with an entirely new canvass for Boyle to paint? Awesome. I still think 28 Days Later is one of the best and most underrated movies of the decade, so here’s hoping Boyle does his best work with post-apocalyptic genre material.

JA: Plus, Boyle earned more of my respect by moving on to something totally different and not directing 28 Days Laterer (aka 28 Weeks Later), the sequel that I fear will only, inevitably, piss on the original's memory.

Nathaniel: It's weird to me that Rose Byrne is starring in both this AND 28 Days Laterer (your title is better). She's having an extended Boyle moment this year.

JA: With Sunshine, it's all about that cast. And Boyle. And that terrific trailer. And the possibility that Chris Evans will reenact the opening sequence of Barbarella and strip naked in zero gravity.

Lulu: I'd be even happier if Troy Garrity did the Barbarella homage... Woof


Nathaniel: Shouldn't there just be an entire omnibus film as Barbarella homage? Imagine what, say, 10 directors with 10 luscious movie stars could do with it.

UPDATED: new gallery of stills highlighted by Cinematical

previously on "we can't wait"
#13 Southland Tales
#14 300
#15 Hot Fuzz
#16 Stardust
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

We Can't Wait #13 Southland Tales

Donnie Darko, Richard Kelly's first feature, was shot in 28 days. It would take much longer to find distribution and then plenty more to become the cult favorite that it's become. The first edit was 165 minutes long and it eventually got whittled to 113 before it hit theaters. So maybe, just maybe, there's nothing to worry about in regards to the production history of Southland Tales , what with the delays and recutting.

This new film stars features a hodgepodge of Los Angelenos like shady police officers, boxers with amnesia (The Rock), and porn stars turning to reality television (Sarah Michelle Gellar). The cast includes everyone from Cheri Oteri through Miranda Richardson and on to Seann William Scott. As far as I know, no tall demonic rabbits appear. It takes place in the future known as 2008. So they'd better get it into theaters soon, right?

Joe: Big sprawling casts always tend to attract me. Big sprawling casts full of maybe not the greatest collection of actors ever are almost more fascinating, in that they’re all like snowflakes – no two are the same. The Sin City cast looked like the weekend clientele at a brothel...you know, the one next door to the methadone clinic. The Bobby cast looked like a sketchy mix of old cougars and the young men who would be their prey. The Southland Tales cast looks like..like the line at the Hollywood unemployment agency? I mean, how else to explain the “Land of the SNL Lost” vibe? Anyway, my point is that even the most motley of crews can come together perfectly, and Kelly’s style is strong enough to be able to keep them all in line, I think.

The Cannes reception doesn’t scare me so much – Cannes can be such a funhouse mirror for how a film will actually be received Stateside. Also worth noting is that if the Darko director’s cut is anything to go by, Kelly can improve a film a good deal upon editing and fine-tuning. I’m not giving up hope just yet.

JA: The man who brought Jake Gyllenhaal to my attention making a movie with Buffy? It's like, come on, Richard Kelly, you're not even being subtle anymore. You obviously want to break down my door and ravish me, but are forcing yourself to speak through these obtuse cinematic codes. Really, dude, just come on over, we can talk. I don't think you need to spend years of your life crafting my wet dreams into celluloid.

Lulu: Ok. If this is pre/post-apocalyptic, I'm in. Otherwise, I'm just confused.


Nathaniel: I'm assuming that a lot of people will be. Take Gabriel for instance. Not a peep out of...

Gabriel: I'm going to believe the naysayers at Cannes, who felt that the movie (I'm paraphrasing here) was a pile of stinkydoodoo...

Lulu: No reason to bring my sister into this.

Gabriel: ...although I do have a crush on The Rock, so...I'm conflicted.

Nathaniel: Conflicted? Confused? Anxious for it to arrive? Southland Tales will supposedly do just that in April provided that it doesn't end up in some distribution hell wormhole

previously on "we can't wait"
#14 300
#15 Hot Fuzz
#16 Stardust
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

Film Bitch Awards 2006. That's All

Whew

Every year I tear out my hair trying to decide what I'd vote for if I had an Oscar ballot. I make it more difficult by adding categories. Juggling 100 movies and private delights into something public in 8 pages of awardage and commentary in 40ish categories is not easy. But I hope it's fun to read. Every year I think 'this is insanity -- can't do this no more!' but in the end I guess I think of it as scrapbooking, like a journal of moviegoing. I may not always agree with what I once felt. Hell, I may not agree with a few of these tomorrow. But it's there for time capsules sake and, as always, to further suss out my feelings about the cinema. So maybe it is worth all the work? I hope you get something out of it, too: Rental ideas, entertainment, fodder for discussion.

Page 1 Films, Directors, Screenplays
Page 2 Performances
Page 3 Visuals
Page 4 Sound & Music (and Traditional Oscar-Awards Statistics)
Page 5 Performances (Extra Awards)
Page 6 Extras (Miscellania)
Page 7 Favorite Scenes
Page 8 Favorite Scenes and Awards Statistics
Page 9 Readers Polls: 2006

Volver and Children of Men ended up ahead of the pack with 9 medals in various categories. The Devil Wears Prada, Marie Antoinette, and The Departed were close behind with 8 each in what was essentially a strange year, with no films ever becoming as dominant in my heart as past favorites like Brokeback Mountain, A History of Violence, or Moulin Rouge!.

With my own awards out of the way, only Oscar remains. Up next: 13 more 2007 Movie Previews and the Oscar Symposium. Stay tuned.

We Can't Wait #14 "300"

Butler readies his army for battle. Haven't you heard? Swank is his next co-star.

Readers I didn't even need to ask my very smart 'we can't wait' pals why they so desperately await this movie. The answer was perfectly obvious...


History! I mean, who doesn't want to see it? Duh.
And what better way is there to learn about ancient Sparta and the Persians?


They should teach this stuff in schools.


You can see the trailer here. Zach Snyder is the man behind the wheel here and you may recall that he directed that superb remake of Dawn of the Dead a couple of years ago. Remember how dense and literate that was? This time he's adapting a wordy Frank Miller novel, so hit the books before seeing 300 on March 9th. The more you know going in the less likely you'll be confused by all those long talky political sequences.



UPDATE: New vlog footage with Gerard Butler for more 300 action. [src]

previously on "we can't wait"
#15 Hot Fuzz
#16 Stardust
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

We Can't Wait #15 Hot Fuzz

Nathaniel: That title sounds dirty to me. Is it a movie about sweet sweet puppet love? Someone please to explain.

Lulu: If 'twere about "sweet sweet puppet love" 'twould have certainly been on my list. But as 'tis, I've no clue. Seems like one of those English country murder mysteries with a big blood-pac budget.

JA: Come on, people! These guys made Shaun of the Dead! Shaun of the freakin' Dead!!! What, just me? (Though dirty puppet sex would have also been cool.)

Joe: Seriously, y’all, I’m with Jason. Shaun of the Dead! Only the finest in zombie comedy filmmaking this millennium! Check out the trailer – it looks like all the best aspects of Super Troopers and the Beastie Boys Sabotage video (that’s a good thing, people) wrapped up in a delicate shell of awesomeness and Bill Nighy.

Lulu: Well, I'm sufficiently schooled now. (Though some puppet sex would've been nifty)

Gabriel: Stinky and Nathaniel, please report to the principal's office. An immediate showing of Shaun of the Dead will be required in detention hall. Seriously. Great movie. Can't wait to see what they do next.

Nathaniel: I've seen it. I've seen it. Just didn't make the connection. I'm busy!


Readers how did you feel about Shaun and will you be lining up for Hot Fuzz? You'll get that action comedy fix in April.

UPDATED: Film Ick has been chatting with the makers of Hot Fuzz.

previously on "we can't wait"
#16 Stardust
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

There Are No Small Parts

One of the things I love most about movie-going is the private ecstacy of a public experience. You can be sitting in the theater and what you're feeling or focusing on can be totally different than the people around you. I sometimes can't shake a single person or a single element from my mind even when other stuff has faded away. I already shared that cat purring scene from Children of Men that lodged itself in my movie-addled brain. That's the kind of thing I'm talking about.

There were two actors this year who are totally stuck in my thoughts who don't fit any acting category --not even "limited or cameo" -- they're in a good portion of their respective movies but their roles are so backgrounded that you might not have even noticed them.

I'm talking about Elizabeth Rodriguez as Detective Gina Calabrese in Miami Vice and David Oyelowo as Dr. Junju in The Last King of Scotland. Nick wrote a nice piece on the supporting cast of Scotland so I'll just direct you there and add "yup, what he said" rather emphatically. Aren't I so eloquent? As for Ms. Rodriguez. All that Miami Vice really asks her to do is fill a space in a team that movie stars work with. She does that as well as anyone might have but, for all of the film's furious visual beauty she, an actual furious beauty, was the unexpected takeaway. Detective Calabrese is always in the background, looking like someone you just don't want to mess with. She projects formidable laser focus and maybe chronic seriousness... probably not fun at office parties. But I just love how she held the frame, held the gun, held her own all while the movie asked so very little of her.

Egads, even with all these extra categories I don't have enough room! Posted Updates to the Film Bitch Awards include: Best Actor and Actress in a Limited or Cameo Role, Best Action Sequence, Best Character Intro and Best Credit/Titles and Best Opening Scene. Almost done with this insanity.

We Can't Wait #16 Stardust

Michelle Pfeiffer works her magic. Literally.

I've posted about Stardust so often the readers probably feel as if they've read the cliff notes of Neil Gaiman's fine fantasy novel which is about a young man on a dangerous search for a fallen star in a magical land.

Save me my blog buddies from going berserk for the (15th?) time over Michelle Pfeiffer's reemergence (she's the sorceress villain). There must be some other reason to see this...

Gabriel: Well, there are a few other people in the flick, Nathaniel: Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole, Sienna Miller, Claire Danes, Ricky Gervais, and Rupert Everett, to name a few. And Neil Gaiman's brilliant. But my main concern is execution: with an untested screenwriter (Jane Goldman) and a director with only one major work under his belt (Matthew Vaughn of Layer Cake fame, who gave up X-Men United to do this instead), the proof will really be in the proverbial pudding.

JA: I'm really hoping they get this thing right so a bunch of other Gaiman-movies can be made - films of Good Omens and American Gods would make my heart explode with glee (as long as they're done correctly, of course).

Also, a question: Is the Tori Amos Tree showing up? And if so, why isn't she voicing it?

Joe: Gaiman’s my #1 reason to see this. All of his books are so very cinematic, so I have no doubt this has some great potential. Sienna Miller notwithstanding.

Nathaniel: Stardust opens on August 10th in theaters everywhere. That gives you plenty of time to read the book beforehand. You'll want to. It's a unique joy.

The Official Site is mostly empty at this point but stay tuned. You can also check out Neil Gaiman's website where there's always something happening.

previously on "we can't wait"
#17 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

Scorsese Triumphant

My brain knows that awards are just popularity contests that are vaguely related to perceptions about talent. My heart does not. It leaps when a cinematic giant is awarded for something... especially if they've had to wait a long time.

Martin Scorsese's directorial gifts have won him legendary status with cineastes, many critics and festival prizes, two Golden Globes, two NBRs and one BAFTA. But curiously the man who made Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence and many more has been denied the top two competitive directorial prizes: The Directors Guild Award and the Oscar. Last night the DGA finally became his for his great work on The Departed.

One down. One to go?

We Can't Wait #17 The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford

Jeremy Renner and Sam Rockwell flank their leader Brad Pitt as gunslinger Jesse James

Andrew Dominik, the writer/director of this new Western (based on the novel of the same lengthy name by Ron Hansen), made his name on the brutal Chopper (2000) which he also wrote and directed adapting from a novel. Dominik's first film was critically well received and introduced the world to Eric Bana (previously known only in the starmaking capital of the world --that'd be Australia). His second feature The Assassination of Jesse James... comes with a ready made star whose already as famous as anyone's ever going to get. Brad Pitt is the assassinated and Casey Affleck is the coward. The film is shot (no pun intended) by legendary and still Oscar-less cinematographer Roger Deakins so at the very least it'll look purty.

The film is due in, well, we're not sure. October maybe? Here's the official site.

Two questions for my anticipating movie companions.

1. Are you worried that this film was delayed from last fall. Is it "troubled"?
   
2. Is Andrew Dominik only going to make movies with the stars of Troy -- Is Orlando Bloom next?

Gabriel: Not especially worried. I like the story, I like the director and I like the casting (the new, roughed-up, no-makeup Brad Pitt is infinitely more interesting that he used to be). It should be interesting, even if it's bad.

Lulu: This one's a push-pull kinda thing. Mary-Louise Parker & Zooey Deschanel? (Big YAY!) In a Western (Mmm, okayyyyy.) With Brad Pitt and the talented Affleck? (Mini yay.) In a reimagination of the already overblown Jesse James myth. (Major feh.) Here's crossing the appropriate digits that Mary-Louise (as a character named Zeralda) really brings home this bacon.

Joe: I'll be the shameful one today who says he has never seen Chopper. I'm sure it's wonderful and I'll one day see it, I swear! Anyway, is really loving the title a good enough reason to want to see this? Bah, even if it's not, I've got Roger Deakins and my girl Mary Louise Parker, though MLP will probably be stuck with the role of the mourning widow or some such. And...you say Zooey Deschanel. That's it. I'm in.

Jason: Yeah, I had nothing on this movie til the director of Chopper and the name Zooey were invoked, and now I'm spellbound. Zooey... Zooey... hypnotizing.

Nathaniel: I'm agnostic on Zooey. But Mary-Louise --Mmm. And I wish all movies had titles like this. Imagine: The Deflowering of Jack Twist by the Closet Case Ennis Del Mar.

previously on "we can't wait"
#18 Spider-Man 3
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

We Can't Wait #18 Spider-Man 3

Tobey Maguire works on some "business" they suggested in the Sundance workshop.
Come see his tiny indie film about a nerdy photographer with commitment probs

Treasured readers and friends, I didn't write a promo for Spider-Man 3 but... kinda self explanatory, right? I saw Spider-Man 2 twice on opening weekend. What am I, thirteen?

[tiny Fly voice] 'Help meeee'

JA: I'm curious if they'll be able to shoehorn any ejaculation-humor into the series in new, fresh and exciting ways.

Nathaniel: I doubt there's room for it. They've got to shoe-horn dozens of new characters in, don't they? Sandman, Hobgoblin (or is Green Goblin redux? I get confused), Venom, Gwen Stacy... I hope Sam Raimi is up to the task.

Joe: I’m not sure when exactly I lost my enthusiasm for the Spidey series. I mean, the second movie was very good, and I’m certainly eager to see the third installment, but the fervor isn’t there. I’m not sure what it is. Lord knows the trailer looks cool enough, what with the mirror-image black-clad Spidey. I am kind of glad that The Dunst is getting a run for her money, ingénue-wise. Though Bryce Dallas Howard is only batting .500 for me at the moment (thought she rose above bad material in The Village, thought she succumbed to it in Lady in the Water).

The box-office battle is almost as compelling as Spidey’s travails onscreen, at least for me. This movie gets two weeks before the third Shrek movie barrels on in and tries to muscle it out of the public’s hearts and minds. Needless to say, I’m pulling for the one in the sweet-ass black tights.

Lulu: I've only seen the previous Spidey movies under serious duress (it's that pernicious Dunst-disdain of mine). But -- truth be told -- I'm actually a little curious about this Spidey...perhaps it's the addiction-ish "darkness overtakes you" narrative/theme that I do love so.

Nathaniel: I love that crap too. It's so comic book but also so universal, truthfully. Notice how I'm just pretending that no one dissed my girl Kiki whilst an invitee in my home. I have the patience of a saint. I really do. Still, I'm hoping Raimi doesn't completely go Batman-esque in the duality, because you know, Batman does that well enough on his own. He's kind of got a patent on it. But I've absolutely loved the Spider-Man movies so far. Best comic book movies. Ever. Maybe I'll see this twice on opening weekend, too. You never know.

Spider-Man 3 opens on May 4th at small independent theaters in NY and LA for an Oscar qualifying run. If it manages to snag any nominations, it will arrive in your town next February! Enjoy.


previously on "we can't wait"
#19 Rendition
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

Wonder Woman Whedonless

Joss Whedon, my hero and the man who brought us the greatest TV show of all time (Buffy the Vampire Slayer -pay attention!) has announced on Whedonesque, in his usual witty fashion, that he's done with the film version of Wonder Woman for good.

I assume Warner Bros chickened out on what was probably a non-traditional take. They are known to err on the side of caution: witness the non-start for Darren Aronofsky on Batman Begins before Batman Begins um...began, witness the endless years where they changed their mind about Superman Returns and how much money they wasted in the process. I'm sure Nicolas Cage enjoys whatever sprawling estate that corporate blunder gave him.

Joss says he has other projects in the pipeline and we already know about that Buffy Season 8 comic book. But how many years do I gotta beg in vain for Faith the Vampire Slayer? Eliza Dushku won't stay 26 forever.

Mmmmm, Eliza Dushku

FYC for FB

Film Bitch Award diehards, here's your last chance to brainwash me into your way of thinking. I HAVE TO complete these awards. Too many other things piling up behind them. So, FYC in the comments for Credit/Title Sequences, Character Intros, Cameo or 'Limited' Roles (i.e. they're not crucial to the film, have only one real scene or coulda been dumped in the editing room but made it through) and Individual Scene Categories that you really love. I'm thinking of dumping the line reading category? I might ignore your favorites but, then again, I might not.

This message has been brought to you by Nathaniel's procrastination and lost pages of paperwork (oops & argh).

Song & Dance: Shortbus & Hedwig

Oops. I forgot the Friday music post. But my best friends were over and we were all laughing our asses off at the histrionic lesbo-horror of Notes on a Scandal again. God I love Judi Dench in that movie. She's just so hateful. But the movie...it's just so wrong. In too many ways to count. Anyway, so let's celebrate a far more self-actualized person, John Cameron Mitchell. He's only brought us two films but both are stunning, musical and entirely their own things. So for today's song interlude, some selections from Shortbus(2006, top ten list) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001, top ten list)

From left to right. Here's Jay Brannan doing his sweet original "Soda Shop" (which he also sings in Shortbus) for YouTube viewers. Be patient ... he bitches about IMDB's awful censorship of the film before he gets to the pretty singing. Then there's a collage of performances from the entire cast at the Shortbus premiere party. Directly below that you've got John Cameron Mitchell performing the Hedwig tune "Wig in a Box" at another Shortbus event. The classic "Origin of Love" from the Hedwig motion picture closes this set. Enjoy.

We Can't Wait #19 Rendition

Aside from Brokeback Mountain fever (which did suck up a lot of time) 2006 was Jake Gyllenhaal free at the movies. Not so 2007. He returns twice. Rejoice Gyllenhaalics, rejoice!

Rendition is a contemporary political thriller about a CIA Man (Jakey-poo) who begins to question everything when he witnesses a terrorist suspect interrogated. The suspect's wife (Reese Witherspoon) heads to DC to seek answers. 'Where is her husband? What is going on?' Presumably these two story threads collide rather dramatically. Omar Metwalley and current Oscar nominees Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin co-star. Rendition arrives in theaters in late November. That's the plan at least. Just in time for Oscars?

As in all things Jake, I defer to JA first...

JA: Well I never got around to Tsotsi, director Gavin Hood's last acclaimed film, but I trust My Man Jake to choose his scripts and directors wisely - he hasn't shown me any reason to doubt his dreamy blue-eyes/opinion yet. And that's some cast there (you forgot Peter Sarsgaard!).

Gabriel: This sounds familiar...the CIA guy, the evil bosses, the questioning wife. Is this Good Shepherd 2? And there's that other new film Breach, with Ryan Phillippe...trade Ryan for Jake, and it's similar, no?

Joe: One would hope that Reese’s role has a little more meat on its bones than poor Angelina’s did in The Good Shepherd. I’m putting my faith in the cast here more than anything. Whereas Shepherd and Breach are both looking backwards at the Cold War, this one looks intently toward the current “war on terror.” Lets hope it looks unblinkingly. As it is now, the cast has me riveted – Jake, Reese, Sarsgaard, and Streep? Did they have a poster of me in the casting agent’s office and a mandate to please me at all costs? I’ll offer my thanks in advance.

JA:Where are we? I just woke up after fainting from the phrase "trade Ryan for Jake." Oh to live in that world. Which Reese apparently does. Damn her.

Joe:I’m still waiting for Jake and Ryan to team up with Matt McConaughey for their long-awaited Three Men and a Naked Cardio Workout movie. The promo pics for that one have been stellar.

Lu: That sounds like a gooood movie.

Nathaniel: It is. I got it on bootleg in Chinatown. I'll burn you all copies.


previously on "we can't wait"
#20 The Bourne Ultimatum
Intro -films that didn't make the list

The Notorious Linky Page

ArtForum Michael Tolkin talks about his working relationship with Robert Altman and Altman's taste for mowie-wowie. Good piece [src]
Cinematical has a list of the Sundance Festival purchases.
Dennis Cozzalio hates Julie Andrews and fears Mary Poppins 'Nanny of the Netherworld.'
EW on the 'real sex' rumors floating around about Sienna Miller & Hayden Christensen in that Edie Sedgwick movie. PR hoax sure? I mean, can you imagine Hayden Christensen having sex with a woman anyone?
Gilded Moose Breaking Tragedy!
Glitterati is Uma quitting acting?
Hollywood Elsewhere Someone doesn't like Eddie Murphy...
NewNowNext Remember when I was talking about Kimberly Peirce's new film and the hot ensemble of rising stars: Here's two of them you know and love at a film premiere pallsing around.
Windmills of My Mind Is Becoming Jane the new Pride & Prejudice which was the new Sense & Sensibility?

We Can't Wait #20 The Bourne Ultimatum

Oscar-nominated director Paul Greengrass (United 93) discussing a shot with Matt Damon

Matt Damon proved himself a gifted actor early in his career but carrying a huge action flick? That was a gamble in 2002. The risk paid off and this series, which supposedly concludes here with The Bourne Ultimatum, is now a no brainer bet for two hours of quality action thrills that don't insult your intelligence. Aside from the smarts of the series one of its key strengths has been in the casting. Damon carries the films but he's always had ample great support from name actors in small key roles. For the third installment wimpy Julia Stiles and steely Joan Allen reprise their roles. The Bourne Ultimatum opens in August.

Gabriel ranked this first on his list. What's the draw?

Lu: Yes. Really. WHAT is the draw?

Gabriel: What's the draw? What's the DRAW?!?! You gotta be kidding me. Matt Damon in buff mode (check those biceps!). Joan Allen, Goddess of All Things. The best director to emerge in the new century. Excellent new cast additions (Paddy Considine and David Straithairn). And the conclusion to the most intelligent and gripping action franchise our time. What's NOT to get excited about? I mean, you're all fussy, artsy types, but seriously...

JA: Who you callin fussy? Do I get to see Julia Stiles die if I go to this movie? I want that guaranteed with admission, or no sale here.

At this point I'm lying and saying I'm waiting for all 3 films to be on DVD so "I can experience the trilogy in its complete form" though.

Joe: When was the last time you’ve looked forward to an action movie for the acting chops? Yet here we are. I’m almost giddy waiting to see Joan Allen let loose again like she did in Supremacy. And, as if I wasn’t already hugely in his corner, Damon made yet another leap in skill level, I found, with his performances in The Departed and The Good Shepherd. Both artistically and commercially, he’s on one hell of a roll, and I don’t think he gets praised for it enough. From Ocean’s Eleven onward, the man has been on fire.

Nathaniel: I'm a little agnostic on the series since they killed off Franka Potente. You just don't kill my Franka! But, that said, I'm seconding Joe that Damon is hot right now and the thought of Joan Allen throwing us that Pamela Landy shade again. I'm totally there even if it wasn't actually on my list.

Readers, are you heeding this Ultimatum?

UPDATE: New set photos @ Random Good Stuff [src]

Two Actors Playing Henry VIII This Year

Is there any historical proof that King Henry VIII was an extreme hottie? Because, well, day-yumn.

But no...


this is what we call "creative license" or "liberties taken"

[see popbytes for more on Jonathan Rhys-Meyer's go at the royal in The Tudors]

Coming Back to Volver

I had the opportunity a couple of nights ago to revisit Volver . Susan P of Oscar Watch reportage fame hadn't seen it yet and I thought: but, of course I'll take a second dip. And just...wow. Again.

Everything I thought Pedro Almodóvar was doing right the first time deepened on a second viewing: the intriguing camera work, the surprisingly gentle twists and revelations of its novelistic plot, the sneaky trademark Pedro perversity --I don't want to spoil the plot but if you really stop to consider what's going on and the people you're rooting for...well, it gives you pause. The full earthy performances are outstanding. Cannes gave the women a shared Best Actress award and that was quite the discerning jury decision for there's not a weak link in the big feminine ensemble and they feel so lived-in, these relationships. The cast is even more convincing and entertaining in their evocation of a troubled but loving family full of individual rifts, favoritism and history than the cast of Little Miss Sunshine, and that pretend family got an Oscar nomination for their efforts.

What were the Academy members thinking when they snubbed Volver in so many areas? This is a moving, textured and funny drama. Detractors will tell you that Volver is not on the same level as Pedro's two Oscar winning efforts All About My Mother or Talk To Her and I would agree but in all seriousness, how many films are? This is the same problem Scorsese's Best Picture bid with The Departed is facing. If you're one of the world's greatest filmmakers, people are prone to undervalue whatever your new piece is. It's the ole' "I like your old stuff better than your new stuff" chestnut. Never mind that the old stuff everyone was so fond of was also once new stuff that wasn't as good as the old stuff or was stuff that people didn't "get" at the time. Great filmmakers make films that keep on revealing themselves. They make films that challenge the audience to keep up. They make films that age well.


In the foreign film category, there's no question that Volver deserved a spot in the shortlist. Canada's Water has a lovely humanity to it but Volver has that too and its far more inventive in structure and impressive in its filmmaking. Pan's Labyrinth is hard to beat visually but it's no match for Volver in the emotional complexity department or even in the eventual fusion of parallel stories: both films run on two tracks, though Volver does this in a far less obvious way, finally merging at film's end. The Spanish Oscars (The Goyas) agreed awarding Pan's Labyrinth more statues in total but giving their top prizes to Almodóvar's latest) I'm anxious to see the other three foreign film nominees which are all set to open soon. But if they're all on Volver's level, 2007 will begin stronger than 2006 ended at the movie theater.

Volver's absence from the foreign film list is the most egregious snub the Academy has made in the foreign category in many a year --it should certainly be as disappointing to movielovers as the snubbings of City of God and Wong Kar Wai's masterpiece In the Mood for Love in recent years. Despite Almodóvar's two Oscar wins (foreign film in 1999 for All About My Mother and screenplay in 2002 for Talk To Her) this new snub calls into question previously held notions that the Academy is super fond of him in general. To my knowledge Spain's film industry powers-that-be (who reportedly have a difficult relationship with their most celebrated filmmaker since Luis Buñuel) have only submitted five of his films for Oscar consideration. The chosen ones: Women on the Verge..., High Heels, The Flower of My Secret, All About My Mother and Volver. Only two have made the Oscar shortlist. For comparisons sake, Buñuel himself had three eventual Oscar shortlisters in his lifetime (Tristana, That Obscure Object of Desire, and his winner The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie) . Like Pedro he received two Oscar nominations on his own.

As for Penélope Cruz and the Best Actress race, I'll say this: I recently got an email from a reader asking me if he was correct in assuming (based on my own awards) that I preferred Cruz to Helen Mirren's award devouring work in The Queen this year. I assume this question was asked out of sheer disbelief, given the near universal and lavish praise that Mirren has been wearing so well. But my answer was yes. It surprised me too. The Spanish actress knows completely what she's doing in the embodiment of "Raimunda." She accurately and beautifully illuminates the character's particulars: her irritability, her forceful resolve, her quick draw temperament as she rapidly assesses every situation (sometimes too rapidly) and barrels through. In the final act Penélope really proves her mettle. Years of controlled and locked up emotions come flooding back in, completely bewildering her. And then there's that new little girl softness towards films end, that's both touching and a telling actorly touch. People will be loving this performance for years to come.

Back in September, when I was flush with the excitement of seeing Volver for the first time I thought the sky was the limit for its Oscar and box office prospects and I wasn't the only one. Pedro Almodóvar had been building steam with the public and with Oscar voters. I was curious back then at how well Volver would fare financially. Just for updates sake I'll let you know that Volver, closing in on 10 million @ the box office? (and just beginning its expanded post Penélope nomination run) will surpass Talk to Her's total and may even disrupt All About My Mother's top dog status with Pedro inclined ticket-buyers. The public is responding even though the Academy dropped the ball. Good for them.

If you haven't seen Volver yet, run. It's a beauty.

*

Post-Release Updates: Top Ten List 2006 -It's way up there * The Oscar Best Actress Race factoids, conjecture, and more. And the race for Best Foreign Film

Tags: Pedro Almodovar, movies, Spain, Volver, film, box office, Penelope Cruz, Oscars, Academy Awards

Podcast Lift-Off

Exciting news for me. I'm sticking my fingers in new pies. I'm extending my reach beyond the web and New York. [insert evil mastermind laugh here] I've officially joined the Ashley Foot's "Radio Allegro" team, coming out of Canada. You can, if you so wish, listen to me on their podcast weekly now. This'll be slightly different for me because it's a pop culture podcast so it's not just movies-movies-movies, though those will be in the mix.

If you have iTunes and would like to subscribe you can click here and you'll get this episode and each new one downloaded automatically when they air or click here where you can download an individual episode and/or choose to subscribe. Or, just head over to Radio-Allegro site to listen to this particular episode. So many options! I'm a giver.

Modern Fabulousity's Gabriel Shanks has also joined. What do we talk about on this inaugural episode? I'll give you one guess. A final note: I'm amazed at how hard it is to do radio. So be kind, it's my first time. I'll get the hang of it.

"We Can't Wait!" A 2007 Countdown

Over the next 10 days, this blog will be counting down 20 heavily anticipated movies that are arriving sometime this year. 'Anticipated by whom?', you ask. Well, rather than just blathering on in my usual style about what I want and what I need [cue Effie White soundbyte: "What about me-eee?"] I thought I'd mix it up this year. So I invited some buddies: ModFab, Joe Reid of Low Resolution, StinkyLulu, and My New Plaid Pants to add their voices to the "I can't wait" mix and we reached a top 20 compromise.

The three movies that were highest on my list that did not make the top 20 (curse those invitees!) were the following:

Savage Grace
What! How come this didn't make the list? I'm the only one who wants to see Julianne Moore in a psychologically f***ed up drama about a doomed heiress in the 70s? How can that be? Anyway. Not sure what to expect here. Tom Kalin, the man behind the camera, once made the excellent gay indie Swoon (1992). But this sophomore effort took him 15 years? He's been making only short films. The project has also gone through several cast changes (but always with Julie in the lead). What to expect, what to expect...

Julie plays Barbara Daly who 'married up'. Stephen Dillane, Nicole's hubby from The Hours is Mr. Baekaland with whom she has an unhappy relationship. She's also a little too, um, close to her only child. Her son is played by Eddie Redmayne (pictured --he should have been on my ubiquitous in 2007 list. He's co-starring in three Actress heavy efforts this year: this one, The Golden Age, and The Other Boleyn Girl). It all ends tragically. Can't wait!

Untitled Kimberly Peirce Project
For all of my issues with 'Beelzebub', which have been well documented on this blog, I love the film that made her a star: Boy's Don't Cry. It was an evocative despairing small town drama of life on the fringe. The director was a novice, but the film felt so well judged that I've anxiously awaited a second film. For 7 years now. Kimberly Peirce finally got another film made. It's a story of a soldier (Ryan Phillipe) who's come back from Iraq and refuses to return. A similar drama is playing out on television's Brothers & Sisters but I'm guessing the movie will go deeper. Ryan Phillipe and Channing Tatum (oh, Channing) are the principals I believe. Critical darling Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, Mysterious Skin), Jay Hernandez (mmmm), Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas!) and Anthony Mackie (he's been in everything lately, hasn't he?) round out the rather amazing cast, a "who's who" of 20something Hollywood.


30 Days of Night
What can I say? I have a thing for vampires. You may have noticed. 30 Days... is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith and it springs from a rather ingenious concept: What the hell do you do if you're attacked by vampires and there's no sunlight coming? I get scared just thinking about the concept. Maybe this is because I'm a wuss. But it's probably more because I've lived in a town myself (in Norway) where no sunlight was seen for days on end and let me tell you: it's maximum freaky.

This story takes place in Alaska and the protagonists are a husband and wife played by Josh Hartnett and Melissa George (yet another starlet from Australia) who you may have seen being terrorized in other gruesome movies like The Amityville Horror and Turistas. This girl is always getting herself terrorized! You can see more about the production of the movie here.

The countdown proper starts tomorrow!

The Screwtape Letters

File this under the worst movie news I've heard all week: Walden Media (the folks who brought you the skin deep The Chronicles of Narnia) will be adapting one of my favorite books of all time C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. It's about a devil instructing his apprentice in how to corrupt a human soul. To my way of thinking there are just some books that should never, not in a million years, be visualized. This is one of them.

Letters is an epistolary novel and those are immediately troublesome as far as adaptations go (there are exceptions of course. There always are). In a film version they will have to actually dramatize events you're only hearing about in the letters of the novel. These events are told through a skewed perspective, the demon's. Part of the joy and the strength of the novel is reading the words and reinterpreting them. A movie will also have to visualize hell, senior and junior demons and the like and immediately rob the powers of suggestion of the book --it's not big on visual descriptions, being a very conceptual thing. This kind of thing can only end one way: corruption and over simplification of the brilliant source material. I'm horrified that the Lewis estate would even consider selling the rights to this.

The Cliffs of Insanity

This is how bad it's gotten. I see a picture of Michelle Pfeiffer on a cliff as tiny as an ant and I get all freakishly impatient and I think of nothing else. My whole being teetering on my own clifftop of anticipation.
Someone save me from myself! Stardust could never live up to this amount of pent-up longing for my favorite movie star. Hell, my favorite movie star could never live up to my longing for my favorite movie star. I think I have finally lost my mind with the wait. I stare at this picture of Michelle Pfeiffer and I am only longing and I hear only Björk's Hyperballad racing through my mind.

we live on a mountain
right at the top
there's a beautiful view
from the top of the mountain
every morning i walk towards the edge
and throw little things off

...like my sanity. I wonder what my sanity would sound like, slamming, against the rocks.

p.s. the title of this post is actually the name of a blog i've dropped in on occassionally but it was too perfect to pass up for this particular posting. mwah 'lovestrong', thanks for the loan

p.s. 2 there's also an online petition you can sign to ask the distributors and production company of Pfeiffer's romantic comedy I Could Never Be Your Woman to treat the film with more respect and get it out there to the public.