Missy! Missy! Missy!

I am deeply ashamed. I always pick up Missy Elliott's new CDs the day they drop. Outside of maybe Björk I think she's the most inventive, funniest, most fascinating musician working. But today I was at work, stressed out of mind. It was raining. It's muggy. I forgot. Oh the shame! So The Cookbook will have to wait until tomorrow.

But while I wait I shall share my fav Missy songs for your information. In rough (and subject to change) order:

01 she's a bitch -da real world
02 all n my grill - da real world
03 i'm really hot -this is not a test
04 get ur freak on -...so addictive
05 let me fix my weave -this is not a test
06 work it -under construction
07 pass that dutch -this is not a test
08 sock it 2 me -supa dupa fly
09 hot boyz -da real world
10 4 my people -...so addictive
11 hit 'em wit da hee -supa dupa fly
12 izzy izzy ahh -supa dupa fly

Curiousity killed the Nat

Out of curiousity: Does anyone actually notice that the sidebars to the right change each week? Weekly obsessions, iPod, (primarily -though the linkage does see minor shifts. Or is it a useless onanistic pleasure of mine?

I know that what you're really curious about is the Oscar predix updates (1/2 way mark of the year and all). That's on its way, too.

42nd Street Screenings

More screenings (trying to catch up)

War of the Worlds
Poor Spielberg. He just can't help himself. Despite the cheap 9/11 audience baiting tactics, I was kind of going for it in patches. Because, well, he can stage a good scene. But that ending --Oy. He really is pathetically addicted to not disturbing the audience. Even within the context of a horror movie. It's just so frustrating in its enthusiasm for pandering. [spoiler] Everything must always be "A-OK" no matter that you've witnessed 1/2 the population being exterminated*. Not even one hair on the heads of any of our heroes will be damaged. Even the teen-age son who was standing right where a massive mile long explosion happened. Wish fulfillment fantasy at its most pandering ugh. The family even looked like they'd stepped out of a catalog at the end when they came out of their brownstone. Not a hint that anything terrible had recently happened. Nice hair. Clean pressed clothes. Happiness. Happy family! Happy! Happy! Happy! Never mind about those millions of murders and the world's greatest cities being a pile of rubble. Forget it. You'll be A-OK! C-

*why is this movie PG-13? What does one have to do for an R nowadays? Seriously. I'm not much of a fan of the MPAA but this is one of their worst calls ever. People being blown to bits several times in full screen. body parts. massacres. dead bodies. destruction. mob violence. This is a hard R even. It's an easy call.

Bewitched
This must be as embarassing for Kidman as Laws of Attraction was for Julianne Moore. Both are super actresses. But even the greatest actors are just not suited to all genres. You can feel her effort and the calculation in every frame here which is totally NOT appropriate for light fizzy comedy. She just didn't know where the jokes were at all. I can't imagine who this movie is for really. A total mess. D

Crash
Not exactly subtle (which I'd heard) but also kinda good (which i didn't believe until I saw it because of the 'unsubtle' tag) if only because it's overemphatic, underlined thematics are graced by humanism (no villains and no heroes -hooray!) and a uniformly good cast; Terrance Howard shines brightest in my mind but for the first time I saw Sandra Bullock as an actress with real unfulfilled potential. It wasn't fulfilled here (not much to do) but she seemed to know what to do once handed something worth doing. So hopefully some interesting director will give her a real role soon. Save her from Miss Congeniality 3! B

IFC screenings

It's 3 AM so this will be über short but I figured I ought to celebrate my return to the movie theater with a screening entry.
I tried out the new IFC center -formerly the Waverly. It's a very weird space ~maze like. Very freezing. Too much light in the theaters in the form of glaring red exit signs which tint the sides of the screen red and overemphatic stair lighting which can cast a shadow on the wall of your bodily movement if you happen to be fidgety and sitting in the aisle seat. (which I am and was). But still a pretty good art house space. Between this and the Sunshine I will be amazed if the Angelica can keep its business since it has such poor space/conditions relatively speaking.

Me, You, and Everyone We Know Whimsical. Affected. Touching. Funny. Original. B+
Tropical MaladyConfusing. Hypnotic. Abstract. Frustrating. Singular. B
As always grades are subject to change --it's 3 AM. I can't be trusted.

War of the Words

As many TFE readers know. I am not particularly fond of Mr. Spielberg. So, I bow to me pal Nick today as he goes on this articulate rampage. My birthday is over... but somehow I felt this was written just for me (note: it wasn't). So, er, happy belated me.

OscarWatch tells us that everyone loves War of the Worlds but I count at least three (Nick, L'Ebert, and David Poland) who don't --and I haven't even starting reading reviews. 'Everyone' minus several critics apparently.

Friday CatBlogging: Monty's Domain

Last week I introduced you to my cat, Montgomery. Since he's so cute here's another brief meeting. Last night the attention-demands were fullblown. The meowing was done in full sentences --what was he saying? After 6 years I still can't suss it out sometimes. His food was full, the water was plentiful, the cat box clean, the petting instantaneous. The usual 'get home from work to be followed around the apartment' came with the less usual simultaneous leg hug attacks.

Monty's favorite place is the floor. Not for this feline the heights of doortops, dressers, or closet space. Monty surveys his kingdom from this expansive throne. He plops down, rolls around, and keeps his eyes super alert to everything. Maybe the floor-as-throne isn't such a bad idea after all... it does cover his entire world, after all! For shy moments his throne even comes with roofing (under the bed, table, chairs) should he so desire.

talking points

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the second half of the year. Which means, it's time for the Oscar race to begin. Start already! So far the competition is determinedly unexciting. Cinderella Man has pros (determined studio -watch for a revival, middlebrow triumph of human spirit appeal, Oscar-good-luck-charms Crowe & Zellweger) and cons (perceived as a flop, too typical, trying too hard, too early). Crash has pros (unexpected hit status, topical drama, the cast) and cons (early in year, unsubtle).

Over in the limited/platform world The Upside of Anger has pros (Joan Allen giving the year's best performance so far, two other films to bolster her appeal) and cons (might be forgotten without significant critical or preseason push, does the studio realize she's arguably the first half of the year's easiest acting nomination shot with the right campaign? whew, that was a long sentence). In Blockbuster land War of the Worlds and Batman Begins are the big shots for tech prizes... but both of those could lose out to other upcoming smashes and Christmas spectacles.

So how many nominees (any category) do you think we've seen so far? one? two? five?

once more into the beach

Movie Deprived pt. 2

Soooo...Cabo was lovely but, having excessively pale skin, I was slathered in sunblock 30-45 the whole time and I only got a little color ---you can see in the pic in my profile but then, there's kind of an orange tint going on there which is more of the Mi Casa restaurant candle vibe than my own melatonin-challenged skin.

And last week I'm at Jones (less sunscreen) and this weekend maybe Sandy Hook as part of the 4th of July festivities. So, lots of sun this summer. Movie theater darkness, not so much. Drat! Yes I have my free will but it's hard to resist friends, weekend getaways, sun, sand, beaches, etc... Hopefully the movies will still love me when I get back to them. I've been so unfaithful.

Movie Deprived

So depressed tonight. Just can't seem to find the time for cinema these past couple of months. There is so much out there I haven't seen.

On my "need to see" list (and why I want to see them) and currently playing in Manhattan:
Me You and Everyone We Know, (the prizes), Elevator to the Gallows (58) (Jeanne Moreau) , War of the Worlds (I'm a masochist... i don't know) , Herbie: Fully Loaded (La Lohan), Slutty Summer (i am so very gay), Monster in Law (Fonda), Layer Cake (love me some Daniel Craig), Lords of Dogtown (loved Catherine Hardwicke's last feature, thirteen), Crash (it got way more attention than I figured it would), Cinderella Man (Oscarbait masochism.)

On my "why didn't you see that dumbass!?!" list and no longer around by the time I make it to the theater:
The Holy Girl, Or, Dallas 362and Mysterious Skin(Which I felt like I should give a second chance to)

I feel like a smoker who kicked the habit but still thinks about lighting up constantly. DVDs are a different kind of fix but maybe I'll watch one.

Gregory "Atticus" Peck

Just watched To Kill a Mockingbird and, my oh my, that Gregory Peck sure was terrific in his most famous role as Atticus Finch. While many movie fans dream of voting on the Oscars sometimes it would be a real bitch; Imagine having to choose between Peck, who won the Oscar, and Peter O'Toole's towering title role in Lawrence of Arabia. Don't you just wish that sometimes they could hand out two statues? It must be excruciating to vote when there are two or more performances deserving of a spot in the history books. I would've checked O'Toole's name personally... but not without a lump in my throat for old Atticus.

Statler & Waldorf

Thanks to ModFab for pointing me towards this juicy movie news. Just this weekend I was wondering aloud about what happened to so many great Muppets character. As if in answer to my question, Waldorf and Statler (those two grumpy wise-cracking Muppets in the balcony)are back to terrorize filmmakers and stars as their films premiere. Check it out in the link above.

Howl's Somewhat Moving Castle

After a whirlwind party weekend with friends we closed out the weekend low-key style with a trip to The Sunshine (hadn't been there since moving way uptown but I love that theater). Went to see Howl's Moving Castle. Fans of Spirited Away and Princess Mononokewill find much to enjoy here. (I haven't seen Hayao Miyazaki's earlier work but it's all on my Netflix queue). He is such an enchanting filmmaker that it's easy to forgive this film's less forceful and less moving narrative. Castle is always involving but it loses steam in its last third and suffers from a deus ex machina forcing it suddenly until the realm of the improbably joyous ending.

When discussing any great filmmaker it's easy to say "this one is not as good as some others" but keep in mind that that's misleading ~obviously the bar is pretty high to begin with. True to Miyazaki form, there are huge helpings of glittering, oozing, hopping, magical images in Howl's Moving Castle. That's more than enough to recommend any movie. There is also that lovely and peculiar sense of shifting loyalties, a rare treat for animated features, which comes from Miyazaki's gift at rounding out characters. Never what they first appear to be, the villains are never 100% evil and the heroes never come without considerable flaws.

They Want You

Over at OscarWatch there's an interesting list up of 115 people who've been asked to join the Academy. It's by invitation only that film industry professional join the ranks of the voting body of the Oscars. Some interesting choices this year --one hopes that one day changing membership will learn to move away from middlebrow pap into the realms of mainstream pictures that might actually be worth something 20 years later. Bitch all you want about Sideways being overrated, for example, but people will still be watching Sideways many years hence. Can we say the same about Seabiscuit or Finding Neverland

On the actor front they're going for diversity --Excluding the diverse lineup of new nominees based on nominations they received last year --you already know about them --The Academy wants the following folks to fill out ballots each year: Jennifer Coolidge (great choice), Will Ferrell & Ziyi Zhang (for ubiquity's sake? perhaps), Gael Garcia Bernal & Paul Giamatti (it's a new way for making up for past slights -invite them to join!), Charlotte Rampling, Jean Reno, and Stellan Skarsgard (mighty, talented, oft-employed foreigners)

My favorite choice other than hilarious Coolidge and lusty Bernal is Mark Mothersbaugh (of Devo and Wes Anderson filmography fame) being asked to join the music branch. Good on the Academy. They're too boring to nominate him but maybe he can add one interesting voice to one of their least aesthetically adventurous branches. Change comes slowly.

La Lohan Returns

She wants to come first! [insert off-key pop warbling here]

OK, fess up. Who is gonna see Herbie this weekend? Or already saw it? And why is no one entering my Movie Car contest? This contest actually has a prize!

But back to La Lohan. As for the blond mane, come back to the five and dime Lindsay Lohan, Lindsay Lohan. Blonde is for losers like Hilary Duff and Jessica Simpson!

Friday Cat Blogging: Monty and Friends

This is my baby Montgomery. Originally I had typed up a withering screed about how much I hated 50% of America's population but with that political venting out of my system I thought it best to not post it officially --Instead I'll just show you my surly, absolutely cherished kitten. Er, cat as the case may be. He's grown a lot in the time he's been with me, which would be approximately all of his life don'cha know. So here is my fuzzy baby presented for your indifference (if you come here for movies) enjoyment (if you're a cat person) or annoyance (if you're not --And if you're not... I have no time for you anyway.)

This is Pride week in Manhattan and friends are arriving soon to celebrate. Monty hates people as a matter of cat principle though he will, if the mood strikes him, cuddle up. If two friends arrive he will plop down in the center of the room for appropriate objectification and worship. If more than, say, four arrive he will disappear until the last soul has departed. Tonight we suspect he will make several appearances as there is fish on the dinner menu. I'm not proud of it but he's a total beggar.

More on Monty next Friday.

too many things

Today I'm feeling like Amber Waves in Boogie Nights in that scene with Rollergirl (minus the cocaine binge) "Too many things too many things too many things... I wanna go for a walk. Let's go for a walk."

3 Coins

So, my stack of Netflix and Classic Flicks began to weigh so heavily on my television last night that I figured it was finally time to get through them. Why pay $40 a month for subscription services unless I actually start watching DVDs?

I started with Three Coins in the Fountain(1954), part of my ongoing project to give out retrospective awards. You may be like "what project?" but that's because so far it's unposted and private. I started with 1954 on a whim and have seen a lot of interesting time-capsule appropriate stuff. Sometimes these days I'll wake up and feel like Dwight D Eisenhower is still president, McCarthyism is in full swing, Our Miss Brooks is on television, and shoulderpads with fullskirts are appropriate daywear for the office.

Three Coins is one of those 50s comedies about husband hunting. You know the type: Think How to Marry a Millionaire which had the same director, Jean Negulesco. Unfortunately for this travelogue-style picture (top tourist attractions in Rome and Venice are pimped throughout) the starpower here is much dimmer than in that earlier picture, making Fountain more of a curiousity than a must-see.

Beyond the hokey but hugely popular theme song, and it's popularity-pushed Best Picture nomination, there are things to recommend the picture. Dorothy McGuire and Clifton Webb as the oldest of the lovebird couples make the most of their screentime even though their story doesn't kick in until 1/2 way through the picture. There's eye-candy galore in the pretty vistas and as was and still is their habit the Academy went for the lush landscapes to the tune of a cinematography Oscar. The dresses (costume design by Dorothy Jeakins) are also beautiful.

Finally, there's surprisingly hot (hey, for 54 it's steamy) mashing between Jean Peters and Rossano Brazzi as initially unfortunate office lovers. Jean Peters would later marry the infamous Howard Hughes (about 10 years after the events told in last year's The Aviator). Rossano Brazzi is even prettier. In 1954 he also played Ava Gardner's true love match in The Barefoot Contessa and a few years later he played his most memorable role, the lead in South Pacific.

I always find it fascinating to note which pictures struck the public's fancy in which era and if this romantic comedy is any indication, 1950s audience dug corny theme songs, considered European travel glamorous, were hypocritical about sex, and loved the idea of rich and successful men saving working women.

Goodbye Dorothy. Hello Mary Louise

Two questions today for everyone marked by two historic events.

Today marks the 36th anniversary of Judy Garland's death. Being a 'friend of Dorothy' I am stereotypically just a touch fonder of the Garland mythos than your average cinephile might be. But it goes deeper than blind raving fandom. I genuinely respect what she brought to the cinema as an actress and a musician. Unquestionably one of the great entertainers on screen, stage, and disc. Garland's career was before my lifetime so I developed this fandom over many years of movie watching. The movie related deaths that really upset me in my lifetime were those of Natalie Wood and River Phoenix.

Which celebrity passing has most affected you?

Today also marks the 56th birthday of Mary Louise Streep, also known as Meryl. She's often referred to in print and soundbite as the 'Greatest Living American Film Actress' or other similarly impressive sounding descriptors. Whether or not you agree with those assessments...

Which Meryl Streep performance really gets to you?

TomKat & Brangelina

y'know, I feel somehow as if I have been remiss in my duties as a starf***er since I rarely indulge in gossip. Used to be that I lived for it. Sorry to be so late for the party but I figured I oughta say something given that I already ignored Rascal Crowe and the phone incident...

BRANGELINA

Oh sure it's kind of perversely hilarious to watch InTouch's increasingly misogynistic headlines each week as they follow their own manufactured Angelina vs. Jennifer wars in the wake of the Pitt split. But it's also disheartening and does a disservice to all parties involved. Brad, is after all something of a refined guy, into architecture and nesting, etc... Angelina and Jennifer also are both far removed from the trailer trash persona realm of, say, Britney Spears. My hunch is that neither Angie nor Jen, richer than we civilians could ever imagine being, don't need Brad to support them. Just a hunch. And correct me if I'm wrong but neither of them have let themselves go. Are they really in need of "sexy makeovers" to win back any man? It is to laugh. This is more Ricki Lake or Jerry Springer in print than it could ever possibly be in reality.

TOMKAT

The other ongoing celeb-watching story is the mad courtship and instant-true-love of Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes. Now, many of us have known/suspected for years that Cruise was nutso. I would be inclined to ignore the current fiasco on the "told ya so" level except for that it's making me rethink Nicole Kidman all over again. And, I do not want to do that.

You may be asking: How is Kidman hurt by this? After all, on the surface she ends up looking like a rose. But that's just for now. Let me explain. Everyone is kind of laughing at Cruise for his rapid descent in taste; Nicole Kidman to Penelope Cruz to Katie Holmes? The talent or beauty level dropping each time. (Not that Penelope and Katie are without talent or beauty. But in comparison to Kidman who has proven herself a true and probably enduring movie star, it just doesn't cast a flattering light on the spoils) So, initially, Kidman can still bask in her own earned glow. But the more suspicious the general public gets about Cruise's affairs, the more they may begin to remember that that relationship also seemed a little bizarre during its time.

If you'll recall Kidman was a veritable unknown in the stateswhen she hooked up with Cruise and became, with the release of her first American feature, Days of Thunder, an above-title star. It's not like she toiled away for years working for that status. She either had sensational management or the good fortune to be ambitious, in the right place at the right time, and eager to replace Mimi Rogers as Mrs. Tom Cruise just when the Cruise camp needed a replacement bride. Pronto. It's also no secret, though semi-forgotten as her star has dimmed, that Mimi Rogers is one of the rare Hollywood folks not intimidated by the Cruise machine. She has publicly dissed him issuing hilarious bon mots from time to time particularly in the early days of the mad courtship and instant-true-love of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

OK, now I have to wash my hands. I feel dirty just thinking about all of this...

You can read some great/scary/hilarious/freaky things about publicity tour/nightmare relationships fromDefamer & of course Defamer, Secrets and Lies, roger friedman, and Free Katie, Conversation About...,Pop Culture Junkies, The Answer Bitch, Chortler, FametrackerRainbow Networkand New York Daily News. Thanks to Towleroad and Low Resolution for some of these links.

Welcome to Summer

It's June 21st, the official first day of summer. For those lucky bastards who recently lounged beachside in Mexico --oh wait that's me!-- summer began already. But welcome to the rest of you.

Which film screams "SUMMERTIME!" to you? Share with all of us by posting a comment.

a prescient film

Maybe this movie was 14 years ahead of its time? I've been thinking a lot about The Rapture lately (the film not the mythical upcoming event). The 1991 Michael Tolkin movie starred Mimi Rogers as a swinger who gets born again and glassy-eyed with tragic results. It feels like essential viewing right about now, given what's happening all around this country.

Everywhere you look, fundamentalism and feverish religiosity seems to be rearing their non-rational heads. It's scaring the bejeezus out of me. For those of you out there who haven't seen it and are also feeling scared of the American Taliban (aka: the Christian Right) and their theocratic plans for the country, prepare to see the scariest horror movie ever. For those of you who aren't much concerned about the pattern of fundamentalism as the downfall of civilization but who like watching movies, you should still see it. Mimi Rogers is aces in it. She should've been nominated for an Oscar.

And, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe she had a lot to draw on as she was involved in Scientology for many years (don't know about her current status) and was previously married to both a Scientology counsellor and to the Scientology Missionary Man, Tom Cruise. Not that Scientology is Christian fundamentalism. But it all boils down to the same thing, doesn't it? Any idealogy that is taken to extremes... that controls your life, blocks out rational thinking, that disables critical thinking skills and the ability to see multiple perspectives or embrace diverse choices is not good for you and not healthy for the society either. Civilization requires its citizenry to have these very crucial skills in order to live peacefully with those around them.

music makes the people come together

Similar to that Book thing a week ago--here's a music meme. Can you tell I'm procrastinating other things? (I started writing an actual film review but I'm so woefully out of practice.) For young music lovers out there: Please forgive the 80s intensity of the following list. They say the music from your adolescence is always more resonant for you and many of these questions are of the "life forming" variety.


1. Total Number of CDs/Albums I Own:
400ish I think. I still long for my missing vinyl though. It was lost somewhere in my frequently moving college years *sob*
2. Last Album I Bought:
THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZAoriginal Broadway cast recording. It's just great. Adam Guettel is, sadly, never going to make the mark people think he will. He's too damn unprolific to be the next Sondheim or Hammerstein (as the case may be). The next purchase I'm definitely making is Missy Elliott THE COOK BOOK. I have everything else. As long as Missy keeps on dropping, I'm snatching them up.
3. Last Album I Listened To:
Antony and the Johnsons I AM A BIRD NOW --just weird and gorgeous. Rufus Wainwright and Boy George both have guest spots. That's how gay and theatrical it is, god bless.

4. Currently Listening To:
Gwen Stefani LOVE. ANGEL. MUSIC. BABY.
5. Lyrics or Beats?:
Lyrics. I'm all about the dialogue. even when that s*** is bananas. b-a-n-a-n-a-s
6. First Album You Fell in Love With:
That would be Olivia Newton John GREATEST HITS VOL. 2--many people are embarrassed by their first love. But not I. Do not be dissin' on Olivia anywhere near me. Ever. Not even under your breath while reading this blog.

7. Biggest Impact:
Madonna. period. All of 'em. She gives good soundtrack to life.
8. Favorite Album:
Kate Bush THE HOUNDS OF LOVE crazy, pretensious, spooky-girlie, and essential for any record collection
3 runners up in no particular order
George Michael LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE Vol. 1 a perfect pop record -too bad he lost it.
Yaz UPSTAIRS AT ERICSVince Clark also brought the world Erasure and Depeche Mode but Yaz has it all over any other new wave band because it's got the magic combo. Vince AND Alison Moyet.
Eurythmics SAVAGE this one is mine I loved it way before the rest of the world began to realize how awesome it is/was/will continue to be.
9. Most Listened To:
Probably Madonna's RAY OF LIGHTthough I never kept count ;)

10. Sexiest Album:
Björk VESPERTINE has to be way up there.
11. Biggest Disappointment:
Annie Lennox BARE I just can't get into it ~too monotonous. I weep that she takes so long between albums.
12. Five Albums That Mean the Most to You:
Other than those mentioned in the other 11 questions I have to go with...Rufus WainwrightPOSES , Cyndi LauperSHE'S SO UNUSUAL, John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen TraskHEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, Jason Robert BrownTHE LAST FIVE YEARSand Tori Amos BOYS FOR PELE

Joan, Russell, and Glenn

Fans of my site will be happy to know that Oscar-watching will continue. 'round about July 1st the Halfway Mark Oscar updates will happen. Though I must say that I don't have that much confidence that we've seen any significant contenders yet with the possible exceptions of Joan Allen if the campaign is handled well in terms of revival of The Upside of Anger and Russell Crowe if he can overcome his sociopathic bully tendencies and the middling box office for Cinderella Man.

Meanwhile fans of the Best Actress races in general should check out 80s superstar diva Glenn Close in her new filmThe Heights. Fans should do this immediately. It's not a great film but it is involving, the characters are well drawn and you may marvel again, watching it, at how Hollywood could have possibly ever lost interest in Ms. Close.

Joy Rides

So, since I am officially back and the summer movie season is in full swing. Let's accelerate. Enter the new contest over at the the Film Experience. The June calendar is also updated. Reviews? Articles? Etc... More on the way as the summer heats up.

The Ideal Screening (pt 2)

The Ideal Screening does not include...
...watching a movie in your native tongue with foreign subtitles on. No Comprendo!

Brad & Angie w/ Subtitlar!
I saw Mr & Mrs. Smith in Cabo for only $2! Can you imagine? In Manhattan we now pay over $10. Happily I did not break the piggy bank for this Pitt & Jolie fest. I cannot say that I thought it was anything close to a great movie but I entertained myself throughout with impure thoughts for both of the über-luscious stars. Whatever one might say about this movie, my guess is it wouldn't be "gee, those two sure are homely." The boyfriend remarked to me afterwords "that's too much lips for one movie!" But with Brad & Angie's on display I heartily disagreed. The saying “never too much of a good thing” instantly came to mind.

Experience the fullness.

No seriously --experience it. Puckered to perfection these two.


Still, if total genetic perfection turns you off there’s still the gorgeous lippage of Vince Vaughn, Adam Brody, and Kerry Washington on the sidelines.

Now, I realize that to suggest that the welcome sight of one Kerry Washington is short of perfection is a waste of time but I was doing a lead / supporting thing so please ignore the time wastage. (And a note to all Kerry-lovers out there: I saw her first. So back off!)

Yet, despite the maximization of kissability on display --or maybe because of it since the abundant sexuality is servicing a movie with domestic violence played for big laughs -- I much preferred this movie when it was called War of the Roses . That film was deliciously nasty as well. But it understood that black comedy cannot usually contain audience coddling happy endings or underlying thematic incongruities like ”true love conquers all” when people are onscreen beating the s*** out of each other.

Oh but I almost forgot --the subtitles. English is my native tongue but somehow, while watching this film in Mexico I found that I was absolutely unable to not read the subtitles, even though I understood almost nothing I read. Pardonnez moi but I studied French in high school. Somehow reading Spanish made the English I was hearing seem foreign as well. I'm sure I missed a good quip here or there. But the movie was more "Clever" than clever anyway. So, I'm OK with that.

The Ideal Screening (part 1)

The Ideal Screening does not include...
...watching a film from the backseat of a small car at the drive in. Obstructed View!

@ The Drive-In
The first time I went to the drive-in it was to see Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. I don't know why I remember this since that was also the summer of the original Star Warsand, surely, Star Wars should have taken up all the cells available to my hippocampus at the time. But remember it I do. Well, not the film so much as being at the drive-in. The second time I went to the drive-in was sometime in the 80s and I don't remember what I saw. I do recall that we were listening to Stacey Q's "Two of Hearts" on the way there though. The third time was in the 90s when I saw a double feature of Casper and something else -can't remember what. And now I've gone a fourth time. This time it was the oddly conjoined Madagascarand The Ring Two. I guess the theory is that the kids will fall asleep after the first feature so that they aren't permanently scarred by seeing a mommy trying to kill her only child in the second?

If you like your movies to look like this....


instead of this...


~than I strongly suggest that you attend the drive-in with more than two people and in something other than a convertible. For such was my view of Madasgascar. By the time we got to the second feature I had successfully become something of a contortionist in order to see the full screen. My back did not thank me later. Nor did my cinephilia. Passable entertainments both but nothing worth getting bent out of shape over (ha ha).

I'm baa--aaack

Hi kids! Miss me? Before I dive back in to the site, my real job, and this here blog I must express my immediate and most shocking "did you know?" about Mexico: A MOVIE TICKET ONLY COSTS TWO DOLLARS!

unplugged

...decided to unplug for a bit. No phone, internet. Etcetera. Off to Cabo. My apologies for those who need more postings. But I need sun, sand, and the water. Immediately. Have a nice day.

jet plane

I will be on a plane in about 21 hours for some much needed r&r and I have this feeling that these 21 hours are going to be lengthy ones.

Verse & Twang

Just a reminder of an earlier post.This reading is happening tonight if you're in Manhattan and so inclined.

Empty Shelves

Nick hit me up with this book questionnaire. And you know I always perk up when someone says "you're it !!!" (see previous post) --even if they don't mean it in the flattering Clara Bow fashion. I wasn't expecting to be tagged here... you see, Me and Books? We've and off-and-on again relationship. But it's less a passionate Liz & Dick thing and more a f*** buddy situation; we have hot times but we both know we're not in love. Our downfall? Well, I need more visual stimulus. And, as for my buddy Books...She needs a partner with more stamina / less attention deficit disorder.

1. Total Number of Books I Own
I'm guessing close to 200ish. I recently purged before a big move and some things are still in boxes currently, sooooo, an exact # I no give.

2. Last Book I Bought
Bite Club a West Hollywood vampire novel. I know. I know. But I was on a short vacation and I wanted something to read, light and easy, on the plane.

3. Last Book I Read
That'd be To Kill a Mockingbird (loved!) which was part of a series of intermittent attempts to bone up on things that everyone else knows by heart. The DVD of the Oscar-winning film version is atop my TV currently because I also haven't seen that incarnation. I've been Mockingbird-less my whole life.

4. Book I Am Currently Reading
Bite Club. I just started it. On the plane (see question #2) I read about the tabloid-ready adventures of Angelina & Brad instead --then fell fast asleep.

5. Fiction or Non-Fiction?
Fiction of course. I'm the same way with films. I know it's hip to love the documentary. But it's just not me.

6. The First Book I Read
I can't remember. But as a child my absolutely favorite book was One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer. And my parents read aloud to us a lot on family road trips so I vaguely remember Lord of the Rings (which I did not love) and The Chronicles of Narnia (which I did).

7. Largest Impact
The Little Prince I've read it multiple times and in three languages and it gets to me every damn time. Resonant, imaginative, profound, and plain ole perfect.

8. Favorite Scholarly Book
Desperately Seeking Madonna: In Search of the Meaning of the World's Most Famous Woman

9. Most Read Book
I'm copying Nick's answer here only because it's true: Inside Oscar --there are a multitude of books covering this topic but only this one is indispensable. The rest blur together.

10. Sexiest Book
I don't think I'm reading the right things.

11. Biggest Disappointments
I'm not disappointed in books so much as disappointed in myself for never reading them. My number one disappointment is that I've never read Another Country by James Baldwin which numerous people close to me swear by. I am so non-bookish that I thought it was the book that that 1984 Rupert Everett flick was based on.

12. Five Books that Mean Something to Me
05 Germinal because it, along with Cabaret (the movie) were important signposts to me in my adolescence that aesthetically, morally, politically, I was not my parents' son. The parents were horrified that I loved both.
04Beloved most particularly because it takes such a major dive into the glorious land of artistic gamble/risk and elevates itself to pure genius.
03The Uncanny X-Men (The Claremont/Byrne years)I know these are comic books and probably should be technically ineligible for this survey but to me they were everything at the time; Art, literature, mythology, and family.
02Queer in America by Michelangelo Signorile because it helped me to be strong, proud, and to fight the good fight.
01The Great Gatsby because I get all -well, simply put, I love it.

13. Tag
You are it. Answer any of the questions above herein if you don't have a blog. If you do, answer it there and direct us on over.

enough about you...

...it's MY birthday. Express your love through comments or gifts.

Antoinette Perry

So, the Tony Awards have come and gone. Much happiness have I in regards to the Bill Irwin win for Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. And, though it pained me to see Kathleen Turner lose for the same show, one can't argue with the estimable Cherry Jones taking another trophy. She is a divine gift to the theater. My other favorite show of the season The Light in the Piazza also managed to take home the most awards for a musical (five in all) though it lost the big prize to the blockbuster Monty Python's Spamalot which won only three.

In other stage-ish news, check out the new trailer to the film version ofRent. (thanks to ModFab for the headsup) Props to this films marketing team for not hiding the fact that it's a real musical. That's nice to see given the way Chicago and Moulin Rouge! were half-assed about actually showing people sing in their promotional materials.

BIRTHDAY BOY

OK, well the glorious day of my birth is actually tomorrow. But I've started thinking about it in full force today...and I tend to celebrate for several days in either direction. Since I am equal parts greedy and-- I'm sure you'll agree-- deservingof a massive onslaught of gifts to celebrate the birth of me, I thought I'd be so generous as to share my Amazon Wish List.

Also over on the site, the June Calendar (what there is of it so far) is up...and I have actually been to the movies and hope to begin writing again soon. Los Cabos next week may interfere of course. Lucky, lucky me.

Tonight I'll be watching the TONY Awards...but they may prove to be boring since, just like awards in movieland, the precursors and the actual thing tend to always agree. Can't wait to hear those speeches for the umpteenth time (sigh) from the same exact people --some deserving, some not.

please excuse our mess

technical problems with site and --well, the whole deal. please excuse. be back soon...

bad but unsurprising news

...in a not altogether unexpected move, Michelle Pfeiffer has pulled out of Robert Altman's Praire Home Companion film.

This is sent in from a reader (thanks) by way of the St. Paul Pioneer Press...

"...the movie's start date — beginning right after the PHC cast returns from a July 2 show in Massachusetts — is firm.

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin will play sisters who are performers on "Companion," Lohan is slated to play Streep's sexpot daughter. Michelle Pfeiffer, who had been in talks to play a mysterious "angel of death," is no longer participating in the film."

Breathe, Nathaniel, breathe.

Now, I don't have the time to investigate but I'm really hoping we get an industry-insider expose at some point from some source as to what exactly is going on in Pfeiffer-dom. She hasn't been in front of the ol' movie camera since 2001 when she filmed White Oleander. Since then there's been one botched Oscar campaign, one major awards show appearance, one voiceover job, two agent switches, one Armani tribute, one move (out of Brentwood), and several films that were announced and then died in development or were abandoned by the beautiful one herself.

I'd really like to know what is happening.

Does she totally hate to act --and thus the forever stalled or skittish deals? Does she just have horrid representation --and thus the forever stalled or skittish deals? Has she not seen M*A*S*H, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Gosford Park, Three Women, or The Player? Who would be dumb enough to turn Altman down? Maybe she only saw Dr. T & The Women?And if she really wants to retire (as she threatened in 99) than why all the stalled and skittish deals? Why not just retire?

sigh.

Michigander

I suppose I ought to tell you that I'm on the road (or in the sky as the case may be) on an off lately --thus the widening gap between posts. I really want to talk about my experience at the Drive-In last night (Yes, Michigan still has 'em) but I need access to my actual computer to do so. Visuals, don't you know? So you'll have to be patient.

"Celestia" Strikes Back

Do you ever wonder if Coley Lafoon sleeps well at night? I mean, presumably, this sometime cameraman and actor sleeps right next to two gorgeous women each night. Get your mind out of the gutter: Both of these women inhabit the same body, don't you know?!

Yes, lying there right next to him in the body of his gorgeously off wife, the actress Anne Heche (Happy Birthday girl!), is another being known only as "Celestia" who hails from the Fourth Dimension.

For those of you who cherish celebrity meltdowns (you know who you are!) Anne Heche's craziest days --roughly 1999 to late 2001-- have to rank in the utmost echelons of top star-fueled vicarious thrills for those of with normal lives. We watched as she plunged heartfirst into the world's most famous lesbian relationship, starred in lots of movies, broke up with her more famous girlfriend, wandered in the California desert unhinged, and did a Barbara Walters special and came out about her alter-ego, Celestia. Finally she documented it all in an autobiography called "Call Me Crazy."

Celestia's desert wanderings in the 2000 as she sought God and spaceships in Fresno (?) after splitting with Ellen DeGeneres are top tier classics of the celebrity meltdown genre. Anne Heche's escapades are way edgier than Angelina Jolie's pull quotes, way crazier than Hugh Grant's indiscretions, way more imaginative than Robert Downey Jr.s equally career-killing drug habit, and somehow less desperate and definitely sexier than Margot Kidder's sad headlining breakdown.

Now that Ellen DeGeneres, Heche's former love, is publicly besotted with another Ally McBeal alum (this time it's Portia deRossi who played "sub-zero Nell", currently on Arrested Development) might jealousy and regrets prompt another Celestia episode? Celeb watchers can only hope. This is not to wish Anne harm or continual employment to her therapist. But, truthfully, can you really ever move on after publishing tell-all biographies and speaking to God in your own invented language? These things probably stick with you.

More Celestia/Heche fun?
Revisit that famous Barbara Walters interview -click here.
For two funnier takes on the same thing, there's always Fame Tracker. Hee. And this.
Could you make it work with a crazy chick like Anne?
Anyone know if this TV pilot got picked up?
I'm not the only one who loved the Celestia episode, don't you know...
All that said. Anne is totally hot --I mean, can you really blame Ellen for putting up with her?
She's also a terrific actress.

Poll Madness

The Lusty Month of May: Star Wars Edition

Inspired by a particularly whack e-mail I received last week, there's a new poll on the site catered to those who get a hormonal rush of any sort from that galaxy far far away... (not that there's anything wrong with that. Whatever floats your land cruiser.)

May 24

I promise that the rest of May will be available on the site tonight but in the meantime. Happy Birthday to...

... Jim Broadbent, 55, one of the finest character actors in the world and the 2001 recipient of the FiLM BiTCH Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also won the Oscar that year but for the wrong movie.
...Roger Deakins,55, ace cinematographer. It's almost impossible to pick a favorite piece from his outstanding filmography . Go ahead and try ~ His resume includes gorgeously shot stuff likeBarton Fink, Rob Roy, Dead Man Walking, Fargo, Kundun, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Man Who Wasn't There, A Beautiful Mind, and The Village and that's a sampling from only the last 15 years. Up next for Deakins? The gulf war memoir Jarhead. Will he finally win that Oscar that's eluded him?
...Kristin Scott Thomas who is 45 today and still a cool beauty. Chromophobia, her latest film which premiered at Cannes, didn't get a lot of buzz coverage but at the very least it reunites her with her former onscreen perfect match for icy gorgeousness, Ralph Fiennes. You'd think that reuniting the stars of The English Patient would be an angle worth marketing. If you like Kristin (and if you don't -- why the hell not?) I suggest a viewing of something you might not have seen like Angels & Insects in which she is typically strong. Or, if you want something a little more recent try watching Gosford Park again. Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith got all the attention (and Oscar nominations) but Thomas was also dependably terrific.

And Happy Anniversary to Kate Winslet & Sam Mendes. May 24th marks their 2nd wedding anniversary.

"Truck Stop Theogony"

The following is an advertisement for "a choral reading of an epic poem" which happens to be written by my best friend (it's brilliant, he's brilliant. therefore you should go) -thus its improbable appearance on this here movie & theater blog:

The Writer's Voice Reading Series Presents:
"TRUCK STOP THEOGONY"


"The pump attendant was a girl whose job -
Or rather whose entire existence -was
To fill the bellies of the gods with gas"

'With sixteen wheelers as gods and a Wyoming gas station as the gods' Olympus, "The Truck Stop Theogony," tells the story of the Pump Girl, a servant destined to undo the world and unleash "love's deadly disaese." Jon Jensen's epic spoof mixes Greek, Hindu, and Judeo-Christian myths with Mormon oral histories. In form, it combines the blank verse of Milton and the twang of Country Western. The poem seeks to reenvision faith and love in a world where "gods and men, machines alike, all run on power borrowed, stolen, bought or bled" '

Thursday, June 9th, 2005
8:00 PM
the George Washington Lounge @ the West Side YMCA
5 W 63rd Street (Between Central Park West & Broadway)
Admission Free & Open to the Public / Wine will be served

Aslan Comes Out

Before Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith on Friday night all of the teasers & trailers for wannabe blockbusters were popping off the screen.

Batman Begins
Can't wait.

Fantastic 4
Yes, it still looks like bad.

The Island
The first teaser (linked above) is much more effective than the new trailer in theaters. The trailer here gives you a small idea of the storyline. The trailer in theaters is a mess. All explosions and no discernable idea of what they're trying to sell. No applause in the theater despite the very applaudable pairing of Ewan 'lightsaber' MacGregor and Scarlett 'pink panties' Johansson. They even get horizontal in the trailer. I give that a standing ovation, personally. I don't know what was wrong with the crowd in my theater.

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
LotR fever strikes studios. This is an obvious attempt to deliver the next big multi-film classic fantasy book adaptation at holiday time. I am a bit surprised that they let Aslan out of the bag this soon, visually. (Though I can't find this trailer online yet) Perhaps I'm overstating. How many ways can a lion look exactly? Maybe they never planned on keeping him hidden. At any rate, you'd think they'd save him for the trailer a month before the actual premiere. My favorite image in the trailer is the brief glimpse of Tilda Swinton as the Snow Queen. Perfect casting.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith
This trailer sells explosions and mayhem. But it's Jolie and Pitt both on fleshy display that caused the explosion amongst the audience.

cannes winners

Palme D'Or The Child d. the Dardenne brothers, Belgium
Grand PrixBroken Flowers d. Jim Jarmusch, USA
(this film's cast is sorta spectacular: Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, Julie Delpy, Sharon Stone, etc... um, wow.)

Jury PrizeShanghai Dreams d. Wang Xiaoshuai, China
Best ActorTommy Lee Jones in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Best Actress Hanna Laslo in Free Zone d. Amos Gitai, Israel
Best Screenplay Guillermo Arriago for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Camera D'Or (First Film)
(tie) Me, You, and Everyone We Know d. Miranda July
and The Forsaken Land d. Vimukthi Jayasundara, Sri Lanka

Sith, Cher, and Cronenberg

random thoughts from Saturday morning...

01 Why did I see Revenge of the Lucas last night? Hasn't George tortured me enough? Maybe my therapist is right...Maybe I am a masochist? And why did the train take 28 minutes to arrive and then go 'local' when I was already bone tired from enduring Lucas's relentlessly busy and gaudy images?

02 Yesterday was Cher's birthday and I really meant to do a post about The Year of Cher, which was (for those confused due to her impressively lengthy career) 1987 in which she had hit records, constant media coverage, and three movies Suspect with Dennis Quaid, The Witches of Eastwick with Sarandon, Pfeiffer, and Nicholson, and her Oscar winning star turn in Moonstruck. I meant to write about the best actress race that year and to congratulate the Academy (something I am prone to be stingy about) for choosing so well. Five women all of whom were deserving of their nominations. So, I guess you'll never know that I loved all five of the nominated performances that year: Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, Holly Hunter in Broadcast News (I like to pretend this nomination covers her spirited comedic work in Raising Arizonaas well), Meryl Streep in Ironweed(I still get chills thinking about her belting out "He's Me Pal", and Sally Kirkland in Anna.

03 Little Women is closing on Broadway. So my SuttonFosterLovin' best friend will be mightily pissed that by the time he arrives in August, Sutton will no longer be "Astonishing" each night in the new musical.

04 Who will win in Cannes today? Maybe they've already announced... it's soon at any rate. Buzz has the Cronenberg (A History of Violence), the Dardenne (The Child), and the Haneke (Hidden)as major contenders for something or other. Best Actor might be between Aragorn himself, Viggo Mortenson, and French star Daniel Auteuil. Of course there's always a chance that Jarmusch or Von Trier will be called.

Kathleen clobbers Jessica & Natasha

Excellent article from diva-obsessed Ben Brantley on a trio of famous actresses taking on three legendary roles on Broadway this season.

Professor Xavier's Comic for Gifted Writers

I have been genuflecting to Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Firefly. etc...)too much lately. But here's one more:

First, a generous heaping of backstory:

When I was a wee young thing in the 70s I stopped at the local 7-Eleven and picked up an issue of The Uncanny X-Men (issue #126 to be exact) and began descending into comic madness immediately thereafter. Each month felt like Christmas morning, opening up the pages to see what adventure, threat, personal drama, or battle awaited Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Colossus, Cyclops, Dazzler, The Beast, etc...

Many years later I stopped reading because the comics just didn't do it for me any more. Some say it's an age thing. But I don't know... See, I love the medium itself. Still. I think it's just as valid as any other for storytelling and aesthetic possibility. But I just can't get into the actual comic books anymore. I try, maybe twice a year. I walk into comic shops, flip through a few things, maybe buy a few. And then immediately lose interest again. So maybe it's both age and a creative drought in comics? Maybe I just don't like the art anymore? I hated the Jim Lee (?) years of everyone drawn with the same gargantuan muscle look, which was not the case in the 70s/80s when superheros actually did have different body types, always fit of course but they weren't all injecting steroids and implanting silicone monthly. Anime is cool but I also hated when that became the standard look. I don't like every artist's work to look the same. Maybe I'm just picking up the wrong books? At any rate I lost a lot of joy in comic book reading. And I never got it back.

About Last Night:
A few months ago I started picking up issues of Astonishing X-Men when I heard that Joss Whedon was doing a one year writing stint. Color me impressed. After four issues now, I'm getting close to youthful obsession again. This last issue was a doozy. I really love what he's doing with these iconic characters, and I can't wait for the next issue when Professor Xavier attempts to put the smack-down on the Danger Room, which is now sentient and in humanoid form. Ouch. Now, I don't want to oversell this. But it's possible that last night when I closed the comic I was, for a fleeting millisecond, shocked to find myself in my 30s, on a subway in Manhattan, surrounded by strangers instead of in my parent's living room with the green carpeting and exposed brick wall, all giddy and pre-adolescent.

Are there any comic book readers reading? And if so, what else am I missing in the comics world? Or was I correct to stay away for many years?

George "Palpatine" Bush

This whole Darth Vader as George Bush thing detailed here, there, and every which where is kind of fun to follow and also rouses my curiousity more than I expected. Though I am, in point of fact, still dreading seeing the actual film.

Oh, I know you're not supposed to judge a movie before seeing it. But consider how desecrated my childhood memories of Star Warsand Empire Strikes Back felt once I first spotted Anakin "Yippee" Skywalker in Phantom Menace, the CGI creation: the one who shall not be named, and realized that the only cool new character in a series that used to have gazillions of cool characters would meet a quick light-saber demise after just a few minutes of screen time, how am I too feel otherwise. I'm still shocked at how much I hated Episodes 1 & 2.

But anyway. Politics. This new Star Wars debate is all kinds of funny and all kinds of sad ---It takes a blockbuster movie to get the mainstream media to notice some of the creepy stuff that's been going down in our country? Discuss it we must.

...and by *'it' I mean the country's direction and not whether or not this new Star Wars film is a smidgeon better than the last two. Not that that would be a difficult feat to accomplish. And by 'not a difficult feat' I mean the quality of the movie and not the conversation this country needs to keep having, which won't exactly be a pleasant one.

cannes you believe it? (pt 3)

Top Five Cannes-Focused Thoughts Today
01. The forceful reaction to Cronenberg's A History of Violence which Manohla Dargis calls "awesome", which A.O. Scott seems confused about, which Mike D'Angelo scores tipping positive but with a question mark attached and calls "strange", and which prompted * Roger Ebert * to propose that Viggo Mortenson might snag an acting honor from Cannes on Saturday --suddenly making my way out on a limb Oscar prediction for the best actor lineup not so strange after all.

02. The return of the Woody Allen people actually admire with Matchpoint. Given that people seem very impressed with this film's actual PLOT, might this be accessible enough for Oscar to embrace? (If you don't know that Oscar, and American audiences in general, get much more excited about good stories than good atmosphere, ideas, or cinematic invention, than you're not paying attention.) Woody's last true Oscar success was Bullets Over Broadway some 11 years back. That won an impressive 7 Oscar nominations...an indication that it probably just missed Best Picture nominee status. Could he actually return to the finals?

03. Natalie Portman's shaved head. But definitely not the Paris Hilton stories. Who cares? Seriously? I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom given the amount of press ripples caused by every tilt and swivel of her blond head. But for me she's not a good celebrity. Vacant and boring? yes. Endlessly fascinating? to whom exactly...

04. Following Mike D'Angelo's grades ---His top five so far? Down in the Valley (David Jacobson), The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-liang)The Child (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne), Hidden (Michael Haneke)and Match Point(Woody Allen)

05. Speculating about who will win what... it's really just begun. The awards are handed out in less than a week but there are many films left to premiere.

* I would not suggest reading Ebert's coverage if you don't like spoilers because he gives too much plot away for more than one film. I was not able to completely read his article because I could tell he was divulging key plot elements and I just don't wanna know them.

La Pfeiffer: Still Teasing Us

I won't be holding my breath for the just announced I Could Never Be Your Woman because if I held my breath everytime a new Pfeiffer vehicle was announced I would have died of asphyxiation long ago.

At any rate. This new Amy Heckerling romantic comedy could be Pfeiffer's anxiously awaited return --or not. Past films that were supposed to have that glory include Coraline, Chasing Montana, Taming Ben Taylor, Liberating Paris, and She's Gone all of which were missing either a) Pfeiffer committing or b) a greenlight or c) a male co-star. Which leads me to two questions:

A) Does she really want to come out of retirement?
B) Do the studios not realize what a great movie star she is?
this question is rhetorical --I already know the answer
C) Do male co-stars hate working with her... or do they just hate taking second billing?

Best Actress (the ones you've heard of)

Now... for you filmgoers out there: You may actually know these next ladies better than the ones in the musical category. I'm not sure why so many fine Broadway actors seem to be restricted to guestspots on Law & Order but no one has hired me as a casting director so I can't guess who will fix the system. But, anyway, in this particular category some names will be very familiar to filmgoers as well.


CHERRY JONES as "Sister Aloysius" in Doubt
Possible Campaign Angle: A true modern theater star giving a much buzzed about turn. Trust me, you'd be hypnotized. This is her fourth nomination.
Why You Know Who She Is: Frequent appearances in character roles in Hollywood pictures like Signs, Erin Brockovich, Oceans 12, The Village, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, The Horse Whisperer, The Perfect Storm and Cradle Will Rock. Plus she's an outspoken gay activist --If you saw her, you'd recognize her.
Pros: Genuine powerhouse stage performer.
Con: She's won already for The Heiress

LAURA LINNEY as "Patricia" in Sight Unseen
Possible Campaign Angle: Great performer. Plus she's not slumming on Broadway for attention. She returns every couple of years in between films despite being in demand in Hollywood.
Why You Know Who She Is: Oscar nominated turns in You Can Count on Me and Kinsey.
Pros: Great reviews. What do you expect? Didn't you read the words "Laura" and "Linney" above?
Con: Ancient history having played its limited run last summer.

MARY LOUISE PARKERas "Rachel" in Reckless
Possible Campaign Angle: "It's just an honor to be nominated"
Why You Know She Is: Billy Crudup's ex (famously dumped for Claire Danes while she was pregnant with Billy's child). Recent Golden Globe win for Angels in America and Tony win for Proof. Most well known film role is probably still within Fried Green Tomatoes
Pros: A marvelous stage actor.
Con: Revival closed after only 77 performances.

PHYLICIA RASHADas "Aunt Ester" in Gem of the Ocean
Possible Campaign Angle: She won last year for A Raisin in the Sun. "It's just an honor to be nominated"
Why You Know Who She Is: Many years as the Mrs. in TV's beloved Cosby Show
Pros: Aunt Ester is a crucial character in August Wilson's 10 play cycle, which documents the African-American experience decade by decade, but this is the first time Ester has appeared in one of the plays.
Con: The play closed after only 72 performances.

KATHLEEN TURNER as "Martha" in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Possible Campaign Angle: Her best performance in years. She's made the NYC stage her home after Hollywood kissed her goodbye.
Why You Know Who She Is: La Turner was an 80s film superstar. Like Martha, her character in Woolf,she was always more than a match for her male co-stars who've included Michael Douglas (Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Jewel of the Nile) Nicolas Cage (Peggy Sue Got Married) Jack Nicholson (Prizzi's Honor) and William Hurt (Body Heat)
Pros: Great performance. Legendary Role.
Con: Virginia Woolfis losing momentum and Doubt is gaining given the Pulitzer.

Who will win?
I think Cherry Jones has a comfortable lead, given that she's an important stage actress and that Doubt is a hit with audiences and critics. The only possible spoiler is Kathleen Turner for her savage and boozed-up star turn as Martha. This role gave Uta Hagen her Tony and Liz Taylor her second Oscar. It's not impossible.

Best Actress

Now... you got all shivery reading that title didn't you? Sorry to put you under the cold shower but this ain't about the Oscars in March of next year. Nothing's happened yet to make me change my early bird predictions. I'm still going with Reese, Samantha, Uma, Juliette, and Joan until further scoops come in or at least until the annual summer rethink.

No, no. The topic of discussion today is the Tony nominees for Best Actress in a musical. For those of you who skip right over these theater bloggings, tsk-tsk. The Tony Awards are just as interesting if you dig in. While this year's Actress race doesn't seem to have half the drama as last year's (what a doozy that one was) The Tony categories come with their own particular brand of politics, "due", and 'momentum' issues. So here we go...


CHRISTINA APPLEGATE as "Charity Hope Valentine" in Sweet Charity
Possible Campaign Angle: Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Perhaps misinterpreting the vernacular stage shout-out "break a leg!" Applegate went and broke her foot. The show was off. The show was back on! She heals fast. Out of town word wasn't kind but people (and Tony voters) admire tenacity.
Film Connections: Shirley Maclaine played this part winningly in the 1969 film version.
Pros: Low expectations can reap rewards. Audiences seem to like Applegate's energy in the show.
Con: Stars from film and television can sometimes trample true theater talents with their name-recognition factor. But it's not a foolproof way to clog your mantlepiece. Just ask Jessica Lange (The Glass Menagerie) and Denzel Washington (Julius Caesar), both currently treading the boards. Both were snubbed. Also, this show has never netted a statue for its leading lady; Gwen Verdon, the original Charity, lost the Tony. Shirley Maclaine lost the Golden Globe contest for the film version. She wasn't even nominated for the Oscar. And Debbie Allen, the last Broadway revival's lead, lost.

VICTORIA CLARKas "Margaret Johnson" in The Light in the Piazza
Possible Campaign Angle: Sell those reviews, they couldn't be more flattering.
Film Connections: It wasn't a musical at the time but this story, based on the novel by Elizabeth Spencer, was also filmed once in 1962 with none other than Olivia deHavilland in this part.
Pros: It's the most challenging role of the five nominated, with ample time to sell both her acting (lots of melodrama) as well as her considerable musical gift. She also has the best song in the nominated batch: "Dividing Day" obliterates the competition for songs that you want to eventually have associated with you as a performer.
Con: Not everyone loves the arty Piazza. Comedy is currently more of a Tony magnet than drama.

ERIN DILLYas "Truly Scrumptious" in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Possible Campaign Angle: Um... well, hey--never mind. "It's just an honor to be nominated."
Film Connections: This role didn't do all that much for Sally Anne Howes film career. She went straight to television thereafter. As for Erin herself, she hasn't made any features though she did appear in Jim McKay's last project Everyday People
Pros: Just playing a character with this moniker has to be seen as a pro --at least for your self-esteem, casting wise.
Con: She's the fifth slot choice. Even with great reviews, they can't win.

SUTTON FOSTERas "Jo March" in Little Women
Possible Campaign Angle: If Audra McDonald can win every other year, why not Sutton?!
Film Connections: This Louisa May Alcott classic has been filmed a number of times. So Sutton is filling the same tomboy shoes as Katharine Hepburn, June Allyson, and Winona Ryder...
Pros: ...and she can outsing any of them. (maybe Allyson fans would object?) The role is a perfect fit for her brand of stardom.
Con: She's already won. And recently. While that doesn't deter Tony voters to quite the same extent that it deters Oscar voters, the show isn't strong enough to push her into the forefront. Nor will the music provide much momentum since "Astonishing", her first act closer, is the only memorable number.

SHERIE RENE SCOTT as "Christine" in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Possible Campaign Angle: Matching set! For voters who want to reward Norbert Leo Butz in the Lead category for his energetic work in this adaptation, it makes sense to embrace Sherie, too. They give good stage chemistry.
Film Connections: Scott has the Glenn Headley role in this film-to-stage-musical work.
Pros: She's an endearing and hilarious performer. She and Butz arecharming together. Butz and Scott made gorgeous music together in the Off-Broadway classic The Last Five Years
Con: Her stage time is lacking. Though she shines in the second act, she's all but absent from the first. If she weren't already a star, this would've probably gone the way of the "featured actress" category.

Who will win?
Victoria Clark has a comfortable lead. Unless Christina Applegate's mix of media-friendly backstory and surprise success builds unexpected momentum.

love for sale

The Lusty Month of May: New Poll!
Who is your favorite onscreen hooker? Click on over to the site and choose: It's free. You don't even have to tip these lusty ladies (and men). I suppose these poll results might be different if I asked for whom you'd pay the highest price. Not that you need to pay.

cannes you believe it? (pt 2)

Manohla and A.O. Scott are blogging Cannes (linked in the title above). They both found things to praise in Last Days The Kurt Cobain piece by the aesthetically resurgent Gus Van Sant. And A.O. Scott joins Mike D'Angelo in getting Woody Allen fans hopes up super-high yet again. Everyone seems to think that Matchpoint is a true return to form for the ancient previously genius filmmaker. I couldn't be more enthused. No seriously, you can't see me but I am doing cartwheels in between sentences. Later I even plan to consume alcohol!

In other Cannes news: Here's a link to an ionarts blog entry on one of the greatest movie stars ever and from anywhere, Catherine Deneuve. And as a reminder, Mike D'Angelo is also blogging the Gallic festival... though since I'm mentioning him right after the Deneuve-love, I should also remind that he's more of a Sylvie Testud kinda guy.

Friends of Dorothy

That borrowed time post put me in a a mnemonic state and kept me there. While I'm nostalgic I took a trip back to my print 'zine "Film Bitch." I was thinking back to the Heathers inspired "lunch-time poll" section. So, for everyone reading, let's do one:

Who is your favorite Wizard of Oz character...and why? Think before you answer. (Hint: This film is so great that there are no incorrect choices.)

Joss Whedon + Stephen Sondheim

I guess it totally makes sense that Joss Whedon (Buffy creator and TV genius) is a Stephen Sondheim (musical genius) fanatic but I can't say that I knew before today:

The following is from Terry Teachout's blog (linked in the header above) which contains an excerpt from the latest Sondheim Review:

"Whedon's parents introduced him to Sondheim's musicals when he was a child, and he believes shows like Company and A Little Night Music were formative in the development of his creative vision, one that's "existential and bleak," though shot through with acts of devotion, courage and faith. "...I told my therapist that I knew all of Follies by the age of nine; she said, 'We have our work cut out for us.'"

That last exchange is classic, is it not?

cannes you believe it?

Another May, another Cannes film festival. And here I was talking about everything but... You can follow Mike D'Angelo's Cannes grades at the links above. He'll also be blogging it. Anyone know of anyone else who's helping us to live through the festival vicariously? If so hit me with that link!

Whedon Updates

I don't know how many of you notice that my sidebar changes weekly on Tues Night/Wednesday mornings when I do my weekly obsessions, but it does. This week Joss Whedon is on my mind. I am, naturally, a crazed Buffy fan. Is there any other kind? What is less known about my Whedon enthusiasm is that I never much cared for Angel. That's a TV series that I feel never quite found its voice. Or at least that the voice kept changing. To my way of thinking though Whedon might have struck gold again with Firefly which is now showing at The Urge (On Monday nights at 8:00 @ 2nd & 2nd in Manhattan if you happen to love the Whedon-verse, 2-for-1 drink specials, or Steve the bartender). I say "might" because the first season, which is good but starts slow gives off that familiar impression that the second season will be excellent. Just like Buffy. Her first season was interesting but not exactly classic. And the 2nd season and 3rd season are like television nirvana. Practically perfect in everywhere. But Buffy 's seven season survival was always a TV miracle. Most unusual or great or original shows don't survive. So, the TV gods, being what they are (i.e. oft incompetent) elected to cancel Firefly. No second season will ever exist.

Firefly, the series, for those who are are in the dark about it, was a hard sell. Combining the old west aesthetic with sci-fi, aired out of order, some episodes never aired. And it's all very unusual with tons of characters, complicated backstory, and heavy sexual undercurrents that Whedon shows never shy away from, but that TV audiences often cringe about because it's just too "adult" for them to handle.

The movie "Serenity" will be out in the fall so the growing members of this particular TV cult will have something to be excited about. Here is the trailer.

* In other Whedon news, there's still no word on the possible Faith series and I possibly shouldn't have even brought it up since my yearning for such an imaginary television series is so massive that it often threatens to crush me, the way Faith crushes men's hearts (and bones).

* In still more Whedon news, Wonder Woman is currently being written and will probably be filmed in Australia according to Dark Horizons.

Borrowed Time

Until I feel really inspired, and until this cup of coffee does its cup of joe mojo on me (still so sleepy), I'll be a-borrowing topics from others. My friend Nick just did this...

10 Years Ago I...
1. obsessed on Elisabeth Shue's performance in Leaving Las Vegas and Sean Penn's in Dead Man Walking. In a screw-you switcheroo Oscar loved the other performance in each film most of all.
2. realized that the group of friends I had made the year before were going to be lifelong ones. Big hugs to my 'Fruit Family'
3. dated alot and then a total boyfriend drought began (which I thought would never end).
4. was still licking the wounds of coming out to my parents the year before. My dad, asked me what I did when I got these "cravings." Hilarious now, the choice of words. But painful to hear at the time.
5. took my nephews to see Babe which we all totally loved and which, for weeks thereafter they mimicked in pipsqueak narrating-mouse voices.

5 Years Ago I...

1. obsessed on Dancer in the Dark --Film Comment even printed a snippet of a letter I wrote that said I suspected it would be the best of the decade and the decade had just begun!
2. thought briefly about the leaving the company I'm still with but stayed which wasa good decision at the time but doesn't feel so hot now that it's five years later and I'm eager for change.
3. was feeling the success of my virgin website and had given up the print zine upon which it was based.
4. went to the beach a lot with my best friend. I need another summer like that; large quantities of sun and sand.
5. attended Wigstock for the last time and also attended the Millenium March on Washington (i'm in the blond in both pics above) which was a highly memorable event. Thousands of GLBT people descending on the capital marching for their rights? Priceless.

to be continued...?

your eyes are getting heavy

I hate waking up to the loud radio but it does wake me up. Almost every morning on NPR as I get up, even though it's technically a different day of the week, the news is about suicide bombers. It's like an evil version of Groundhog Day. "Good Morning!"

I am still very very sleepy this morning. I am only typing this random and meaningless post because the wait for the coffee seems to be eternal this morning.

make it stop

You know, to be a judge of musical performance there should be certain requirements for applicants like, say, "must not be tone deaf" --that's all I'm asking. How do Simon, Paula, and Randy keep their jobs? In other American Idol news: Carrie is still boring. Bo is still merely OK. Vonzell is still spirited but dependably off-key. Anthony is still excruciatingly syrup-laden. I'm so glad I quit watching this show (even if I do sometimes have it on in the background). Just because something is addictive doesn't mean it's good for you.

TONY Nominations: The Movie

It's a very cinematic year for the Tony Awards with lots of plays and musicals with previous film incarnations in the running... If you've never seen a Broadway show but have seen the following movies Glengarry Glenn Ross, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sweet Charity, The Birdcageor La Cage Aux Folles, Little Women, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang than you've got half the categories covered. This is obviously not a good thing for the health of the theater BUT it will probably make the Awards show a lot more fun to play along at home with...


PLAY Doubt (7 noms) by John Patrick Shanley (known to filmgoers for his Oscarwinning screenplay for Moonstruck) and Glengarry Glen Ross (6 noms), the very well received revival of David Mamet's play, seem to be leading the play nominations. Rossbecame a 1992 film featuring Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon and is now, 13 years later, back on the Great White Way. The mixed-to-poorly received revivals of Tenessee Williams masterpieces A Streetcar Named Desire starring Natasha Richardson and the improbably cast John C Reilly and The Glass Menagerie with Jessica Lange were mostly ignored as was Denzel Washington's star turn in Julius Caesar--so the name recognition factor only went so far this year...


MUSICAL Spamalot!, the latest box office behemoth to hit Broadway seems to be sucking up a gargantuan portion of the nominations (14) in the musical category. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Light in the Piazza also did well. Not faring well at all was Little Women, one of the earliest entries which nabbed only a nod for cutesy Sutton Foster.

...now that the nominations are announced, watch for the closing notices to go up for the shows that didn't do well or were completely shut out. Goodbye Brooklyn the Musical and good riddance!

TONY Predix: Cross Your Fingers For...

TONY nominations are announced tomorrow.
When it comes to the actors I'm crossing my fingers for the following performers who are not "locks" so it could go either way:
Beresse, Morrison, and, most especially, the unsung Sarah Uriarte Berry in The Light in the Piazza, Adriane Lenox in Doubt who is iffy only because her part is so small... but she's great, that dynamic duo Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Carla Gugino in After the Fall.

I've missed several of the late arrivals (little theater this past month for moi) -poor me. But in the major categories, I expect we'll see:

BEST PLAY -Democracy, Doubt, Pillow Man, Gem of the Ocean
I'm not confident about Gem of the Ocean given its short troubled run. Despite the oomph of being part of an acclaimed cycle, I could see GotO being replaced by Brooklyn Boy The other three would be absolute shockers if they were shut-out.

BEST REVIVAL -Glengarry Glen Ross, Twelve Angry Men, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf make up a very strong category. Then there's maybe Sight Unseen to fill out the category. More likely are On Golden Pond or A Streetcar Named Desire since they're more recent but I'm pulling for the better reviewed show to prevail despite having closed already.

BEST MUSICAL -Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Light in the Piazza, Spamalot! = locked up. Competing for the fourth spot are The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee (my guess), that beloved flying car Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , and Sutton Foster & Co in Little Women. If the ghastly Brooklyn: The Musical is selected I will wear ear-plugs on TONY night or possibly not watch at all because I couldn't stand the wailing for one second longer. What a hideous, hideous show.

BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL -Expect this to be a battle royale between Le Cage Aux Folles & Sweet Charity. Pacific Overtures could fill out the category but it's an acquired taste so I wouldn't be surprised if the Tony comittee didn't acquire it. Just to be different than other predictors let's say they choose The Frogs instead.

Read Me

On Sunday I'm often vaguely out of it, wanderin' round the apt doing nothing 'cept the laundry. So I read other websites and take their cues! Nick listed a Book quiz. So I took it. I am William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury and described thusly
"Strong-willed but deeply confused, you are trying to come to grips with a major crisis in your life. You can see many different perspectives on the issue, but you're mostly overwhelmed with despair at what you've lost. People often have a hard
time understanding you, but they have some vague sense that you must be brilliant anyway. Ultimately, you signify nothing."

That's way too heavy for me because it misses my fun side entirely. I'm not bipolar or anything but I am totally Gemini --i.e. close to the same thing. My significant other saw me taking this and he, being a total bookworm, sat down to take it as well. He is Mrs. Dalloway
"Your life seems utterly bland and normal to the casual observer, but inside you are churning with a million tensions and worries. The company you surround yourself with may be shallow, but their effects upon your reality are tremendously deep. To stay above water, you must try to act like nothing's wrong, but you know that the truth is catching up with you. You're not crazy, you're just a little unwell. But no doctor can help you now"
...a description which makes me giggle out of complete terror because it's, um, true. Enough about that--
Which book are you?

Kung Fu Hustle

So I finally broke my no-movie spell and saw this looney-tuned cgi/martial arts extravaganza Kung Fu Hustle. There's probably one (OK, two) too many setpieces and the whole crazy thing is entirely disposable. But, that said, it was good specific fun while it lasted. Stephen Chow who wrote, directed, and starred in this is quite the multi-tasker isn't he? Chow looks really good without his shirt off too. Not that that has anything to do with the quality of any movie (he hastens to add, blushing!)

KFH is better, funnier, and glossier than Ong Bak:Thai Warrior which is the last martial arts picture I wrote about herein. They'll make an interesting double feature on DVD later this year. But quality aside...when it comes to these two productions, I think I prefer the no-wire low-fi approach to action. And rippling Tony Jaa tips the scales even further toward OB:TWeven though it isn't much of a film overall. Still, imagine you're a filmmaker and you're CGI crazy. If you're smart like Stephen Chow, you'll put it to good use. It's a fine tool for surreal mayhem.

Poptart Sandwich

Lusty Monty of May: Nocturnal Editions


I was debating about whether or not to post this, me being regarded as such an innocent. But...what the hell. The other night, quite to my gay surprise I had an erotic dream about those once-dueling now kinda-over teen sensations Britney & Christina. I'm too shy to share details but it involved a big bed, these two very randy blond bitches, plus me (ahem). Normally I would have found this carnal r.e.m. nugget amusing in a pop-culture saturation way; even my dreams are star studded! But the week hadn't been normal. The embarassing truth was that the Brit' & 'Tina sandwich had fleetingly unnerved me. Following, as it did, another erotic dream two nights earlier that was also of the hetero persuasion albeit sans star wattage.

For a split second or two upon waking my whole 'living w/ boyfriend in gayMan-hattan' existence felt like a groggy sham. Ohmygod... am I straight? Laugh all you want beyootches. I'll join in. On about the third split second I realized that the last person who got busy with both XTina AND Mrs. Federline together was none other than Madonna herself. So I already had a little chuckle at my own expense.


Hetero fantasy flambé.

Have Table Will Travel

The Lusty Month of May continues...
Arriving home tonight I notice a cute guy sitting in the lobby (I guess the doorman didn't let him in?) Between his legs is what looks to be a massage table. I mean what else could that be all massive, folded up, and square?

The wait for the elevator is short. My mind wanders quickly. Maybe he'd offer me a special rate --being here in the building already? Maybe the intended recipient stood him up and he'll have to carry that load back to his tiny apt somewhere on this heavily populated island. He'll have no money to show for his trouble (poor thing). Maybe in my building somewhere is some divorcée as cool and self-actualizing as Holly Hunter in Living Out Loud--I mean, in that movie she had the jonezin' for some bodywork and called the guy right up, didn't she? Not that this guy was Eddie Cibrian or anything but he certainly didn't hurt my eyes.

It's an hour later and I'm still thinking about the massage that couldabeen. Know any good masseurs in Manhattan? Preferrably ones approximating Cibrianic hotness? That don't charge a small fortune for an honest hours work?

Theatrical Panic

Normally I love handicapping the Tony Awards nominations which are announced next week --but this year, despite seeing more theater than ever, I have somehow fumbled in the last weeks of the season and have missed recently opening shows like Sweet Charity, Spamalot!, that spelling bee musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Pillow Man. The fact that I actually had choice seats to one of those and stillmissed the show is a tiny snapshot reminder of how f***ed up things have been in the personal-life-we-shall-not-discuss-for-fear-of-being-called-a-drama-queen-again.

For a theater enthusiast like myself being responsible for a peculiarly empty seat in an otherwise crowded house is pretty embarrassing. Not that anyone would know who was responsible. Or that anyone would even notice if the house was full. Or would they...Are any stage actors reading? Do you notice the empty seats in a sea of people? Is that glass half full or half empty?

good vs. evil

My actual website is apparently closer to god.

"Meme" Quiz

As ModFab commands so I do. ModFab says go to this concert. I do ~excellent stuff. what a voice! ModFab says do this quiz. I start typing.

If I could be a scientist: One very memorable (and drunken) 4th of July while watching fireworks with a big gaggle of lesbians I developed an instantaneous and seismic crush on one of them -a total hottie in horn rimmed glasses. Whilst under the spell of this blazing insta-lust I desperately tried to impress with vivid and increasingly bonkers descriptions of each burst of explosives. She called me a "colorologist" and we laughed for what seemed like hours. That's my answer. Colorologist. Don't tell me it's not a real science. It is to me.

If I could be a musician:I do play piano or rather did when there were pianos around to be played. The talent I'd most like to have is an incredible singing voice. But because I'm such a queen I'd use it to sing Broadway showtunes as opposed to soul. Sorry G. Choice #2 If I couldn't have the voice but could still have the musical talent I'd most like to be a composer. I love the idea of creating something out of nothing. How does Sondheim, for example, go from nothing to complete genius scores forSweeney Todd, Passion, Into the Woods, Company, etc... How does that process happen?

If I could be a doctor: I'd be this guy in late June. Congratulations my friend.

If I could be a painter: I do paint or rather did when there were canvases around to be painted. I'm definitely not a landscape guy. Or still life. I need the human face and form. Despite all that I am inexplicably crazy for Jackson Pollock, though portraits be not his forte. As for the masters DaVinci, Caravaggio, and Vermeer excite me most of all. I also used to really groove on illustration and graphic design and had mad crushes on Erte and JC Leyendecker. My boyfriend loves himself some Robert Rauschenberg. He sometimes drags me on gallery walks but, unfortunately I get image overload and can never remember anybodys name. It's the sculptors who end up really getting to me. Richard Serra is my latest obsession.

If I could be an innkeeper: I wouldn't. The only bed and breakfast I'm interested in running is this kind: The party runs late. I pull out the extra pillows, air mattress, or maybe I just scoot over (depending on how cozy we're getting and the number of guests we're talking about) The next morning I make a huge pot of coffee --I scramble a mean egg.

Aaron and Joe.Tag you're it! Time to take the quiz.