MM@M: I Try to Be Like Grace Kelly

Mad Men at the Movies: Talking bout movies and movie stars referenced in the '60s set series. Previously: Gidget, The Wizard of Oz, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Natalie Wood and Joan Crawford and Marty.

1.9 "Shoot"
An ad man angles to steal Don Draper from his firm by courting his wife for a modelling gig.

Jim Hobart: Anyone ever tell you you're a dead ringer for Grace Kelly?
Betty Draper: They used to.
Jim Hobart: You know what? Coca-Cola is deep into this international campaign right now. A European face like yours, like Grace Kelly's, might be a road we could go down. We could put a call out for a Grace Kelly 'type' but I don't think we'd come this close...

As compliments go, that's quite a doozy. Do you think January Jones heard that before Mad Men or is it all in that 50's princess styling?


That "European face" they refer to was second generation American, born in Philadelphia with German and Irish heritage. Kelly's movie career was meteoric. She was famous by the age of 23 and retired by 27 after marrying Prince Rainer of Monaco. As with other A-Listers who are gone from the screen too soon (usually from death but occasionally from self-imposed retirement) she became legendary and continues to fascinate people. Including Mika, Madonna and numerous other songwriters



other references in this Mad Men episode
Cinema: "More Audrey Hepburn, less Grace Kelly", Three Coins in the Fountain | Broadway: Fiorello! | Politics: Jackie O, Kennedy, Nixon | Celebrities: Suzy Parker

My Apologies to Vera Farmiga

I dream of celebrity. I don't even know what day it is anymore. I was sick all weekend and sleeping erratically. When I woke up this morning (last night? yesterday afternoon?) I was convinced that I had just been interviewing Vera Farmiga. She looked exactly like Sarah Paulson.

Instead of asking Ms. Farmiga about the her new picture, the Oscar contender Up in the Air -- view trailer -- I kept asking her what I should have for lunch. Did she maybe have the pancake recipe that made Claudette Colbert wealthy in Imitation of Life? If so, could I borrow it? Vera/Sarah became very frustrated that I wasn't interested in her career (but I am. Even though I never write about it!)

"Order the damn BLT" she finally declared with exasperation.

I ignored her and ordered the tuna melt instead.

P.S. Fans of I Heart Huckabees will sadly note that I was not lucid dreaming and therefore could not work Shania Twain and Jude Law into the proceedings once the tuna sandwich came up.
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9 Minutes on "9"

Katey and I got a little slap-happy when we were shooting this video. We tried to squeeze too much in to one day. And now weeks later (things have been crazy) I'm 4 days too late to capitalize on the 9 minutes on 9 which opened on 9/9/09. Ah well...

I feel a teensy bad that we were hard on this since we both hope to see a second feature from Shane Acker, the mastermind of this one. His visual imagination is commendable and I did really enjoy the Oscar nominated short back in 2005. The film made a strong $10 million this weekend so maybe he'll get that second feature. Oh sure, "strong" and $10 million don't often get mentioned in the same sentence and the experts are calling that gross "passable". But I, with my enviable complete ignorance of box office statistics, think it's strong for a hard to market movie that wasn't ubiquitously advertised. So there.

"9" Review (Katey & Nathaniel)
by nathanielr

Did you see it?
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Ellen's Triple Crowning. And Other Emmy Tales

The first batch of Emmy winners in creative / technical awards and "guest" acting were announced. It's the stuff they can't fit on the air because they have more categories than you could possibly keep track of, but still not so many as the Grammys.

Curiously the cancelled Pushing Daisies, which couldn't ever manage a "best comedy series" nomination beat EMMY's "best drama series" Mad Men in three of their four shared categories (Art Direction, Costume Design, Make-Up) and lost to Mad Men only once (Hairstyling). The lack of technical trophies for Mad Men makes me worried for their chances in the big categories next Sunday night. Not that there's ever a point in "worrying" about who might win EMMYs. It always feels so random.

I was amused to see True Blood taking the "casting" award. Wasn't the process of selecting all the frequently unclothed eye-candy reward enough for those casting directors? The guest spot acting winners were Justin Timberlake and Tina Fey (Saturday Night Live) for comedy and Michael J Fox (Rescue Me) for drama.

After years without a new "Triple Crowner" we got two in 2009:
Geoffrey Rush joined their ranks in June and Ellen in September.

And then there's Ellen Burstyn who joined the esteemed company of the Triple Crowners (Oscar + TONY + Emmy) with a winged trophy for her guest starring work on Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit. Burstyn's girded steel mantleplace has more than paid for itself by now. Add one Emmy to her haul which also includes an Oscar, a TONY, a BAFTA, a Globe, an Indie Spirit, a Satellite, a Genie and numerous critics, film festival and theater honors. As someone who loves the cinema and is none to fond of watching our great actresses vanish or spend their sunset years in procedurals like Law & Order, I'd like to congratulate the wonderful Burstyn but also slap Martin Scorsese. Why can't he (or Darren Aronofsky or William Friedkin for that matter) find another plum role for her? I don't want to say that Scorsese "owes" her for what she did for him in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) but certainly he's been exceedingly generous with other stars [oh, you know who] who didn't give half as much as Ellen in their collaborations. Why didn't he ever work with her again? Attention all filmmakers: She's 76 years old. Time is a wasting. Hand her something incredible soon.

for the complete list of Emmy winners
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Venice: Two Trophies for A Single Man

By now you've heard the news that Colin Firth received the papal blessing in Venice.


What?!?

The only church I believe in is the church of cinema and Ang Lee is a holy man. Don't tell me otherwise, blasphemer!

If you have to receive a blessing from an auteur, a vote of confidence if you will, what better man than Ang Lee? He has exceptional taste. Colin Firth might be floating up towards heaven even as we speak since Ang Lee and his Venice International Film Festival jury named Colin Firth Best Actor. The honor came for his work as a grieving gay academic in Tom Ford's A Single Man (see: related posts).

I'd like to intone "The Oscar race has begun" in sotto voce right about now, but has it? A Single Man's distribution is still up in the air. Though the movie, based on the Christopher Isherwood novel, is having a great week (positive reception at both Venice and Toronto) only time will tell if the film will be eligible for any more trophies in 2009. For now, it has two.

The Golden Lion winner, Lebanon, which takes place in a tank

Ang's other holy blessings
Golden Lion (Best Film): Lebanon, directed by Samuel Maoz and Maoz Shmulik [Israel]
Silver Lion (Best Director): Women Without Men directed by Shirin Neshat [Iran]
Grand Jury Prize: Soul Kitchen directed by fest trophy magnet Fatih Akin of Head On and The Edge of Heaven fame [Germany]

Actress: Russian thespian Kseniya Rappoport (pictured right) in The Double Hour [Italy]
Young Performer: Jasmine Trinca in The Big Dream [Italy]
Screenplay: Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime [USA]
Set Design: Sylvie Olive for Mr. Nobody [USA]

The sidebar juries handed out the following prizes
Lion of the Future (Debut Film): Engkwentro by Pepe Diokno [The Philippines]
Queer Lion: A Single Man directed by Tom Ford [USA]
Documentary: 1428 directed by Du Haibin [China]
Special Mention: The Man’s Woman and Other Stories directed by Amit Dutta [India]
Controcompo Italiano: Cosmonauta by Susanna Nicchiarelli [Italy]

The only bum deal about the glorious Toronto International Film Festival that's in full swing as Venice shutters, is that they don't do juried awards. So this is your last big film award for awhile. Trophies, cups, scrolls, and golden statues are the way to go, you know. Oh sure, art is silly to quantify in that way but there's something generous and worthwhile about saying "you... you deserve this you beautiful piece of celluloid, you!" Ciao bella!

But back to "Darcy" himself for a second. I like Firth's chances in the Oscar race should the film find a distributor. Not only is that category awfully barren this year, but Firth is a respected enduring star who has never been nominated. When known previously neglected commodities do "best of career" work, big things can happen on Oscar night. Plus, he's a straight man playing gay as he reminded the world in his acceptance speech with a nod to his Italian wife.

I rarely seem to come home from Italy empty-handed – wine, balsamic vinegar, wife, two children, and now a nice piece of silverware.

Everyone knows how hard the Academy thinks that acting gay is for straight men. Imagine the unspeakable horror of locking lips with Matthew Goode! Poor, poor put upon Colin. He thought pretending to be in love with Bridget Jones was hard work.

TIFF Day Two: Dogtooth

Lev Lewis reporting from the Toronto International Film Festival

My second day at TIFF was likely to be my most relaxing. My first and only film was at 9:45pm, so I decided to head over to Yorkville to see if anything was happening. Walking along Cumberland I spotted Jeffrey Wells at a Starbucks and decided to say hello. For someone like me who lives in Toronto far removed from the film world of LA or New York it was fun to see someone I read everyday hanging out in my town.

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop with not much time between screenings (Day Three). So, the movie...

Dogtooth
Yorgos Lanthimos' sophomore feature, which won Un Certain Regard at Cannes, tells the odd story of three "children" whose parents have guarded them from any interaction with or unfiltered knowledge of the outside world. The film moves languidly, eschewing narrative in favour of mood; filling its somewhat lengthy 94 minutes with striking compositions and random bursts of violence. Lanthimos cited conversations with friends about the current state of family as his main influence for the film. Dogtooth's themes of isolation and control come across as quite relevant and compelling. Had Lanthimos and co-writer Efthymis Fillipou nudged their film towards a stronger narrative, the film could've been more than the minor work I'm afraid it is.

Dogtooth makes up for any lapses in plot with its cinematography. Shot in 2.35 anamorphic and with nearly all natural lighting, Lanthimos and DP Thimios Bakatatakis' meticulously composed shots are stunning in their simplicity. Funnily enough, a film I was reminded of was The Royal Tenenbaums. Both films explore disturbed family dynamics within the confines of a sprawling house. The films shared similar moments of dry humour and troubled relationships between siblings despite the contrasts in tone. Had the script matched the cinematography's brilliance, Dogtooth could have been a masterstroke. Lanthimos' narrative oversights hinder an otherwise exemplary endeavour. Grade: B+

Red Carpet: Venice, Toronto and Tilda x 7

Which stars have been out and about this past week? Whole galaxies of them. I've collected a few randomly for this edition of the red carpet lineup. It's but a tiny fraction of the luminaries since we're now in the thick of festival season. Telluride is behind us, Venice wraps today, and Toronto just kicked off. And that's just the big ones.


Nicholas Hoult and Julianne Moore hit Venice for the premiere of A Single Man (see previous post). An Education's Carey Mulligan, quickly emerging as the one to beat for Best Actress, is going to be fought over fiercely when it comes to dressing for the Oscars, just watch. She wore this Prada 09 Fall/Winter collection piece for her film's Toronto premiere. Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly and her perpetually Oscar snubbed husband Paul Bettany were also in Toronto promoting the Charles Darwin biography / marital drama Creation.

Finally, Venice had the cast of the sci-fi drama Mr. Nobody starring Jared Leto as a 120 year-old man. And, what do you know, Sarah Polley came. Polley sightings are exciting since she's not exactly a red carpet staple. But --and it feels so weird to say this given my actress predilections -- I'd rather she get back behind the camera very soon as a writer/director. Away From Her was just fine filmmaking.

What else ya got, Sarah?

Little Know Fact: In late May of 1960 all of the world's major film festivals met for a wild orgy at Cannes. Just as La Dolce Vita was handed the Palme D'Or, Tilda Swinton was conceived. Cannes herself, heavy with child, fled to England and gave birth to Tilda not five months later (everything happens quickly at festivals). It's totally true! For Tilda is the film festival anthropomorphized: the rush of celebrity, the discovery of the exotic, the air of the international and the thrill of the avant garde. Festivals just don't feel complete without her, do they?

She was all over Venice last week (I've repurposed the photos from Zimbio). Witness...

Tilda's Venice palette: baggy black (a la 07 Oscars), earth tones, white.

I wonder if she'll show up in Toronto? While in Venice, she was promoting Lo Sono L'Amore, an Italian drama. Longtime Swintonites should note that a reunion with her Teknolust director is currently in development. It's called Gene to the Fourth and the actress would play a woman seeking eternal life through scientific experiments. But first, and as early as April, Swinton is set to go before the cameras as Die Blutgräfin (The Blood Countess). Yes, that's the same vampiric Hungarian role that Julie Delpy played in the unreleased film The Countess, a film I'm starting to feel I'll never have the opportunity to see.
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MM@M: A Mama's Boy and a Man's Man

Mad Men at the Movies: Talking bout movies and movie stars referenced in the '60s set series. Previously: Gidget, The Wizard of Oz, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Natalie Wood and Joan Crawford in The Best of Everything.

1.8 "The Hobo Code"
Inside ad agency Sterling Cooper, three operators connect calls and listen in. One of them Lois, played by Crista Flanagan (right) has developed a crush on Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt), the firm's closeted art director.

Lois: "Ciao Ciao". [smitten] My stars!
Operator #1: Two weeks in, she's already a goner.
Lois: He talks to his mother a lot.
Operator #2: Because he's not married.
Lois: He's in the art department? Well, what does he look like?
#1: Did you see that movie Marty with Ernest Borgnine? He lived with his mother.
#2: Stop teasing her.

Marty, released in 1955, won Borgnine the Oscar for best actor but in this context it's a derogatory remark, "Marty" as shorthand for homely mama's boy. The sassy operator even manages to make the Italian-American connection. At least she didn't compare Salvator to Norman Bates, right? He was the most famous mama's boy 'round about the time frame of this episode.

Later in the episode, a gay client Elliott (Paul Keeley) who is staying at the Roosevelt dangles a carrot for Sal.

I was in the lounge last night... and I end up having a drink with Robert Mitchum! Actually many drinks. [laughter]

I have no idea whether Mitchum was a favorite of the gay community in the 1950s but it wouldn't surprise me to hear that he was. Either way, Elliott is luring Sal to his current night spot with an icon of taciturn masculinity. One episode, two suitors. By the end of the hour Sal has rejected both Lois and Elliott in his own frightened way. Sal has become the unexpected star of this 'Mad Men at the Movies' series, hasn't he?

other references in this episode
Cinema: The Wizard of Oz "I feel like Dorothy and everything just turned to color" and 42nd Street | Books: Atlas Shrugged | Politics: Joseph McCarthy | Music: Miles Davis

special thanks, as always, to Mad Men fansite "Basket of Kisses" for goading this series into being

"The Look" Gets the Gold

Some people are never down for the count. And Lauren Bacall is one of those people. The famously silver tongued siren began bewitching moviegoers when she was only 19 -- surely the most mature teenager the screen ever saw -- in To Have and Have Not (1944). Aside from a fallow 1970s, she's been working steadily since. In all that time she's never learned to hold her tongue (so many choice soundbites over the years, god bless) and she's still a lively soul at 84 going on 85. Her birthday is next week.

When she lost her only Oscar nomination (1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces) to Juliette Binoche in The English Patient, most assumed that she would be of the Have Not variety when it came to the statue, despite her marriages to two legendary Haves, Oscar winners Humphrey Bogart and Jason Robards. But now, the wait for her very own golden boy is over. She'll receive her honorary Oscar in November.





While we'll see a clip of Bacall at the Oscar ceremony in March, it rankles me that it'll only be a clip. Such a stupid move. The Oscar were made for live moments like that, moments where you can celebrate the last of dying breeds and/or movie legends on the industry's High Holy Night as they mingle with contemporary stars and gazillions of people watch. And make no mistake, there are still plenty of people watching the Oscars every year despite the media's constant reports of Falling Sky! Falling Sky!

Just for fun, here's some of my favorite Tweets from "Lauren" over the past few months as she sounded off on smoking, cats, an unfinished Tarantino script, vampire and horror movies. So what if they were fake? They were so fun. Legendary name dropping, opinions, project pimping...




Now that the news and the tweets are out of the way I have to admit that I'm not really that well versed in Bacall's long career. I've always enjoyed her as a celebrity but aside from To Have and Have Not and How to Marry a Millionaire, my mind goes blank when it comes time to discussing her films. What's your favorite of her performances? Give us rental suggestions in the comments.

A Single Man Teases

I realize that if I ran Hollywood, they'd be bankrupt in a year. Oh, the things I'd greenlight! And the way I'd market the beautiful motion pictures I shepherded into being. (sigh) History shows us that moviegoers like to see spoilers and lots of exposition in their trailers but I shudder when a trailer ends and I already know the entire outline, the best three moments and can guess the ending with 90% accuracy. I'd promote nearly every movie like they're promoting A Single Man. Here is the teaser -- thanks to reader Seeking Amy for pointing it out -- which is all intriguing imagery and dropped hints as to the story that awaits you.



The Good News
This is truly beautiful stuff. Julianne Moore looks ravishing and stylish. Colin Firth looks less dumpy than usual and the cinematography by Eduard Grau (a DP I'm not familiar with) looks promising, indeed. It should come as no surprise that the first feature from a reknowned image maker, fashion golden boy Tom Ford, would look good. But this looks great. The delicious cast also includes the superhumanly beautiful Ozymandias Matthew Goode, Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace, Nicholas "About a Boy Man" Hoult, model Jon Kortajarena, Teddy Sears (Dollhouse) and the always welcome Ginnifer Goodwin.


The Bad News
The movie is still for sale which means that you can't count on it showing up in your cinema any time soon. Here's to hoping that something magic occurs at Toronto and this movie can enter the upcoming Oscar fray. Which will only be a scuffle, methinks, given the barren awards landscape that 2009 seems to be turning into.
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TIFF Day One: Antichrist and Jennifer's Body

Lev Lewis reporting from the Toronto International Film Festival

My first day at the festival yielded two opposing ends of the horror spectrum. On one end: Antichrist, the latest piece of controversy from Danish provocateur Lars von Trier; on the other: Jennifer's Body, the horror-comedy written by Diablo Cody. It's not difficult to say which one I prefer although words such as "prefer" or "enjoy" are not words that one should ever use to describe Antichrist.

Antichrist is everything you have heard and then some. I came into my screening moderately prepared for what von Trier had in store for me. I'd seen his previous work, read numerous articles detailing the controversy surrounding the film, thought I knew what I was in for. But, without trying to sound hyperbolic, nothing can prepare you for this. Perhaps, there will be people out there who will find themselves unaffected by the film, but I simply cannot imagine who they would be. Antichrist is the most audacious, disturbing, gut-wrenching, terrifying film I have ever encountered. At this point I'm still having difficulty applying any sort of critical sensibility to a work this powerful. Honestly, I'm unsure if a film has ever affected me quite as much as von Triers' has. Three quarters through I was literally shaking.

Charlotte in Eden

I need a bit more than an evening's perspective to really dissect the film, but needless to say Lars von Trier, along with Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg (who give astonishing performances as the grieving couple) have created what will likely be one of the seminal works of our time.

Willem Dafoe watched the whole film with us and then did a Q&A. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from him, but he was extremely suave, intelligent and funny.

Megan and Amanda: They know what boys want. They know what boys like.

Jennifer's Body, Diablo Cody's second foray into film, yields dull results. It's difficult to say whether Jennifer's Body feels inferior to Juno* due to a less able director (Karyn Kusama in the place of Jason Reitman), a lesser cast, or whether it is simply due to a poor script on Cody's part. So while it is certainly true that director Kusama is a) unable to combine horror and comedy in any sort of resonant way, and b) build the mood or tension very much needed for horror, blame must also be attributed to Cody who insufficiently blends her already-dated, stylized pop-culture laden dialogue with 80's camp-horror. Sadly, this is the one distinguishing element of Jennifer's Body and the only aspect that separates it from every horror film of late. Like the rest, scares are derived from characters walking slowly through dark spaces until something jumps out, which is of course complimented by appallingly loud thumps on the soundtrack. As well, the numerous flashbacks, which always begin with the obligatory dissolve to white and the contrast pumped to the max, do little to set Jennifer's Body apart from its modern-day peers.

<-- Seyfried & Fox in blood red heels at the premiere.

The film's Midnight Madness premiere was packed and the audience was eating out of the hands of Cody, Kusama, Fox and even Seyfried. However I can't imagine many people getting worked up about Jennifer's Body outside of the late-night festival atmosphere. Or perhaps I'm giving moviegoers too much credit. It is also possible that people will devour the audience-baiting of Jennifer's Body. For instance, at one point Amanda Seyfried, from out of nowhere and with no motivation, sucker-kicks a nurse who has done nothing to warrant such violence. The nurse flies through the air (accompanied by mind-numbing sound editing) and falls bloody and battered into an array of tables. This lurid act of violence received huge rounds of applause from an apparently blood-thirsty audience. Grade: D+

More fun than the film itself were the proceedings. The whole cast and crew were in attendance and up on the stage were: Karyn Kusama, Megan Fox, Johnny Simmons, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman. The rowdy crowd was quite thrilled at the appearance of Fox, and asked numerous questions about the kiss between her and Seyfried. However, Diablo Cody stole the show announcing that her greatest contribution to cinema has been the words "Stick it in".

*Not that I am, by any means, Juno's biggest fan.

related posts: "Places Willem Dafoe's Ass Has Been" / Jennifer's Body trailer

Now Playing: The Dire Days of Summer

Robert here looking at new releases this week. If you hadn't noticed (of course you've noticed) we've entered a strange barren time of year when the whiz-bang of summer has died off and the post-fest Oscar season has yet to start up. Pickings are slim so I'll remind you that these films are still in theaters: The Hurt Locker, Ponyo, District 9, In the Loop.

9 - The one film attempting to position itself for Oscar recognition will have an uphill climb, especially since three Animated Feature spots have practically been snatched up by Coraline, Ponyo, and Up, and there's plenty of competition for two remaining, should there be two remaining. Critical reaction hasn't been very kind, except toward the visuals and I'm reminded of how many filmmakers today are fantastic visual artists desperately in need of writers who aren't anywhere to be found. [rotten tomatoes / metacritic]

Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself - Tyler Perry returns as Media (like you didn't see that coming) his sassy, pistol packing granny who proves that men in drag are never not funny. This time around she catches a couple of troubled youths looting her home and sends them off to their boozing, night-club singing Aunt who, judging by the title, can do bad all by herself. Taraji P. Henson plays the aunt and, judging by the poster, seems to be the selling point for this film which proves that attractive women trump men in drag every time. [rotten tomatoes]

Whiteout - Domenic Sena (director of Swordfish and Gone in 60 Seconds) could take a lesson from Michael Bay. When aspiring to an action film career better to be bombastic, successful and despised than middling, forgetful, and tolerated. After going through development hell, his latest film finally gets released and the world collectively wonders why anyone would watch Kate Beckinsale run around all actiony in a snow parka when you could see her do the same thing in a form-fitting leather suit. Ms. Beckinsale meanwhile continues her evil plan of amassing a career that utterly perplexes me. [rotten tomatoes / metacritc]

Sorority Row - Nothing I could possibly say about this film can describe it better than this: Go to IMDb, look it up and note that the very first listed actor is credited as "bra-clad sister." My work here is done. [rotten tomatoes]

Crude - Have you heard of the "Amazon Chernobyl?" Apparently Texaco hasn't been going easy on the the peoples or environments of South America. Director Joe Berlinger of Paradise Lost fame explores not just the environmental disaster but the unending and complex lawsuit that's still ongoing. [rotten tomatoes / metacritic]

No Impact Man - Another compelling documentary out this week demonstrating how the liberal doc movement of the early aughts has blossomed into something really worthwhile. Author Colin Beaven's experiment of having no environmental impact at all over the course of a year is chronicled in a film that's filled with more comedy and complexity than you'd expect. [rotten tomatoes / metacritic]

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt - I admittedly had not heard of this film before I googled it and saw Michael Douglas' scowl staring at me from inside some misguided Saul Bass-inspired thriller poster. It's enough to make me wonder when exactly it was that Douglas' career took such a hard fall from grace (did One Night at McCool's really do all this damage?) and furthermore why we must be reminded of this sad fact every so-often. Douglas plays a less-than-scrupulous District Attorney. Jesse Metcalf plays a young reporter who frames himself for murder in the hopes of getting inside the story and bringing Douglas down. Expect serious men in suits and lots of dramatic pauses. [rotten tomatoes / metacritic]

The Other Man - Michael Douglas isn't going to provide your only opportunity to see respectable actors in a turkey this weekend. Here Liam Neeson plays a man who discovers his wife, Laura Linney, is having an affair with Antonio Banderas (like we haven't all been there before). Director Richard Eyre (Iris, Notes on a Scandal) has a reasonable history of leading his actors to Oscar Nominations and I recall thinking, over a year ago, that a Richard Eyre movie could only mean good things for Neeson and Linney. Turns out we should probably just expect more serious men in suits and dramatic pauses. [rotten tomatoes / metacritic]

You Linkin' To Me?

Village Voice Josh Olson (A History of Violence) says "I will not read your fucking script"
Flickr Cuteness. José Cruz draws Robert De Niro in 40 roles
In Contention on Tom Ford's A Single Man with Julianne Moore and Colin Firth
The Big Picture ruh-roh. The Road is already turning quite divisive. How do you think it'll fare in the Oscar race?
Empire unnecessary sequel news: Hancock 2. Who was clamoring for this, exactly? Besides the bank accounts of Charlize & Big Willie that is
My New Plaid Pants thinks healthcare via Trainspotting
Cinema Viewfinder is hosting a Brian De Palma blog-a-thon
MTV a stripping fan stripped of press pass after plea to George Clooney. Have you seen this?
The Critical Condition 101 Best Songs of the Aughts (in progress)
The Independent Eye George Clooney doin' the airport stare. Filmmakers love the melancholy of airports, don't they?


Finally...
Coming Soon The Coen Bros are doing another remake. Did they learn nothing from The Ladykillers? We value them for their originality most of all. That said, this reunites them with Jeff Bridges, "The Dude" himself. What's more it's a remake of the Best Actor winning John Wayne film, True Grit (1969). Intriguing or a very very bad idea? Sound off
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Before There Were Websites... (Pt 2)

...there were scrapbooks (prev. pt 1)

Let's continue that silly reveal of my "Movies of the Eighties" scrapbook. I'm still hoping to locate the "Movie Stars of the Eighties" companion volume in which I ranked all the actors and actresses of the decade. Wouldn't that be a ROTFL experience? If I can find it I will share, despite the loss of dignity it will surely occasion.

Behold! To your left is the tv guide cover that started it all. I guess it wasn't an actual TV Guide as my personal mythology has always relayed but whatever television magazine thingie was inserted into the Detroit Free Press back in the day. That cover right there started my whole Oscar obsession -- look how worn, damaged and fingered it is. I thumbed through it so many times. What is this naked gold man they call Oscar??? This cover unlocked my latent awards mania. I had seen Tootsie and E.T. (massive family friendly hits both) but it was the center statue that seized my imagination. Soooo shiny.

Shiny shiny sha-na-na-na.
Shiny shiny bad times behind me

From there I became more and more movie obsessed. Based on the "everything I've seen" scribblings it looks like I was seeing about 25-40 films a year. Not all of the clipping collages matched the screening lists. I can't recall exactly what dragged me to theaters back then, but Dennis Quaid was a factor.


Do you know the 14 films displayed there? Some of them I barely remember...

The 1988 and 1989 pages are heavily Burtonesque with a late blooming burst of Pfandom by way of The Fabulous Baker Boys. I thought this clipping below was an interesting time capsule: a note about who might play The Joker before Batman (1989) was even filming. It was superhero casting speculation before steroids the internet.



It's smudgy but it reads

Although an unknown will be considered for Batman, Jack Nicholson (far right) has been mentioned in connection with the Joker. _____'s personal picks for the role are Ray Liotta (Something Wild, left) or Willem Dafoe (Platoon, center).

For the Record: Heath Ledger was 10 years old when Tim Burton's Batman arrived in theaters. Who imagined that Nicholson's Joker would eventually have to stand down?

If you want to see more of this scrapbook, say so in the comments.

But I wanted to wrap up this part 2 peak with this: Lists! Apparently I thought the best "losing sanity" performances of the 80s were:

Jack Nicholson Batman
Meg Tilly Agnes of God
Glenn Close Fatal Attraction
Meryl Streep Plenty

With the distance of time, I'd only feel comfortable standing by the bunny boiler. Not that there isn't much to admire in Streep's 1985 performance. But why only four performances? The magic number is five, Nathaniel, hello. Everyone knows that.

Stranger still is the "best sequels of the decade" ranking

5. Superman II 4. Star Trek IV 3. Aliens 2. The Empire Strikes Back 1. Return of the Jedi

That order is ALL wrong: Jedi is a sorry sibling to Empire, The Wrath of Khan crushes other Trek adventures and sentient humans and drooling monsters alike recognize that Aliens is the sequel of the 80s as well as one of the best action flicks ever. I like to think that somewhere inside I knew this and thus felt compelled to scribble A-L-I-E-N-S in large capital expanding letters.

Finally, there's the list of the movies I saw most often, "Again and Again and Again" This one honestly surprised me. I don't remember seeing some of these movies multiple times. I never see things more than twice in the theaters now. Unless the movies are called Moulin Rouge!

(4 times) A Chorus Line, The Empire Strikes Back, Dreamscape, Fire and Ice, The Lost Boys, The Princess Bride, The Secret of My Succe$s, Romancing the Stone, The Karate Kid, The Little Mermaid, Beetle Juice and Ladyhawke
(5 times) A Room With a View, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Clue, St. Elmo's Fire
(6 times) Batman
(9 times) Return of the Jedi
(10 times) The Breakfast Club

You know what question I am forced to ask now: What movie did you see the most in grade school, junior high and high school?
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What's your favorite movie...

...of the 1950s?

If you don't have one, get rental suggestions from the answers.

I Am Afraid Of Harmony Korine

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And that's precisely how he likes it, I assume.

JA from MNPP here. If y'all are familiar with my tastes at all at this point - and if you are, my prayers are with you - then you know I don't hesitate at reveling in garbage. Often. Deeply. That vile and base genre that is the horror film is my true love (and the gorier, the bad-tastier they are, there's a pretty decent chance that I will stand loud and proud to champion them), but I roll around like a pig in muck in all manner of cinematic trash whenever I can. It's a living.

And yet... somehow I'd actively avoided all of Korine's films - at least those he'd directed - for a good long while. Something about them creeped me out. Even if it was just the names. Gummo. Julien Donkey-Boy. They promised split lips and acne scars and people lying on pee-stained sofas abusing their children. I don't mind buckets of blood, but... filth... I have a problem with filth. Not the pretty painted-on grime of something like David Fincher's Seven, but movies that hit you like a shut-up trailer's cat-pee smell, those I have trouble watching. And that's what I figured I'd be getting with Korine's movies.

And then... then came the Herzog connection. I am worshipful of Werner Herzog. I bown down. He is in my opinion the greatest living filmmaker. And he started starring in Korine's films. I still haven't worked my way back to Julien Donkey-Boy (I hear his performance therein is something to behold) but I hit up Mister Lonely because, I mean come on, Samantha Morton! Diego Luna! And Werner Herzog? There's no way I could say no. And I loved Lonely. Loved. It was my #7 movie last year.

So now... now we come to his new movie. It's called Trash Humpers. (Of course it is.) And it's playing at Toronto this week, and now via Twitch comes the trailer. The delightfully deranged trailer.

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So what do we think of Korine? One trick pony or cinematic wunderkind? And how about that bizzaro trailer? I'm hooked.
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Lev in Toronto. Again.

Hello all of Nathaniel's readers. Lev Lewis here, not sure if you remember me. My words were kindly represented at the Film Experience this time last year, and I'm happy to be back covering the Toronto International Film Festival for Nathaniel once again.

Last year was my first year doing the immersive TIFF experience, so naturally, I did quite a bit "wrong". That includes seeing a number of films (Zift, Acolytes) that, had I done a bit more research, I would not have seen. However, I've been keeping up with the going-ons of festivals throughout the year and so when the final line-up was announced I found myself familiar with quite a few titles. I'm ridiculously excited for the festival, and have assembled what I believe to be a (hopefully) stellar collection of films.

So: tomorrow evening I start the festival off with a bang with a 9:00pm screening of Lars von Trier's hotly debated Antichrist. Then, directly afterwards I'm attending the Midnight Madness premiere of Jennifer's Body. I'll report back Friday with my thoughts on the two films. Wish me luck.

Snip Snip Go the Posters

Glenn from Stale Popcorn again with another entry while Nathaniel helps his parents move house across the country.

As anybody who reads my blog is that I have a mild obsession with movie poster art. The good, the bad, the very bad and the occasionally deranged. One of absolute favourite key art designers is Jeremy Saunders (his official site) who is an Australian designer. His poster work tends to be for Australian films or Australian exclusive versions of international films.

Recently on his Twitter feed he started going on about "the best poster design he's ever done" and "Praying (to whatever) that @lars_von_trier approves my poster for the Australian release of Antichrist". While I'm not sure if Von Trier accepted it, but he posted the poster on his website and I thought, considering the number of people who want to see this movie desperately, I'd share it.


As anybody who has seen the film (such as myself) can attest to, the image represented on here is... somewhat apt. I do like to imagine this hanging up in the local arthouses and having some unsuspecting victims moviegoers mulling to themselves or their friends "well that's looks intriguing!"

And just to spread the word of Jeremy Saunders here are some of his most amazing work for you to drool over. Aah, the beauty of it all.

Oh Susana...

Jose here with a dose of religious controversy, Mexican divas and whippin' fun...

Even if it's dated, slightly campy and a very minor entry in Luis Buñuel's filmography, 1951's Susana contains some wonderful elements that would resonate throughout the Spanish auteur's entire career.

The plot centers around Susana (Rosita Quintana pictured above) a mysterious woman who escapes jail with help from-gasp- God! She is locked up in a cell with rats, bats and scorpions and prays for the Lord to help her out of there. Before you can be shocked Buñuel is already giving us a cross symbol after which Susana acquires superhuman force, breaks the bars and escapes.



She finds shelter in an hacienda where she lowers her cleavage, bounces her blonde hair, pouts her lips and seduces all the men-including the owner and his son- and causes the otherwise God fearing wife (Matilde Palou pictured below) to go all devil like...



...but not before she also prays and asks the Lord to give her strength to whip Susana and find a way to kick her out of her home.

Buñuel always had issues with Catholicism and whatnot, but what intrigued me about this film was how he implies religion isn't always used for rightful deeds. Not only that, it's exclusively the women in the film who use God to their convenience as if he was another man they could flirt with and get their way. Chauvinism? Social satire? or plain old scandal-seeking behavior from his part? You be the judge. Buñuel himself was never pleased with how Susana turned out (too happy for his taste) but like everything he made it's quite worth the look.
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Before There Were Websites... (Pt 1)

...there were scrapbooks!

My parents are moving, abandoning my childhood home, and I spent my holiday going through old boxes in storage. It's hard to part with any of these secret keys to unlock my childhood. There's heaps and heaps of homemade comic books featuring my own superhero creations which I shan't share (because they were never optioned for movies... not because they are totally embarrassing. Uh, yeah. Not because of that). Plus lots and lots of drawings of various X-Men, Madonna, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker.

Many photo scrapbooks were uncovered including "MOVIES OF THE EIGHTIES"

front cover: Raging Bull (I hadn't seen it. I just knew it was
"important" somehow), E.T. and Aliens

Turns out The Film Experience was no fluke. I was always writing about movies... but when I was in junior high and high school, the writing was in list-making form and smelled like rubber cement instead of Apple computer.

inside covers: Silkwood , Crimes of Passion, Terms of Endearment

The front and back covers are completely mainstream / boy friendly, and yet the inside jackets are so actressexual. It's as if my love for actresses was still reasonably contained, with Meryl Streep and Kathleen Turner whispering to me in pupa stage.

I was absolutely obsessed with the unseen-by-me Crimes of Passion (MPAA ratings scandal!) though I'm not sure I ever asked myself why... Kathleen Turner was enough cover for and emblem of any prurient reason.

back cover: the infamous gold bikini, Return of the Jedi

Somewhere -- I cannot find it! -- there is a half-formed MOVIES OF THE NINETIES scrapbook which I began in college... but abandoned once the glorious internet took over my life and made scrapbooks actual items of nostalgia rather than just containers for the same.

Part 2 coming soon. some random funny clippings from the book.
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