Part 1: Jake Gyllenhaal at "The New Yorker Festival"

I'll share a few more interesting movie-specific quotes I couldn't find room for in this article tomorrow here at the blog. But for now a piece I wrote for Tribeca Film.

He’d be unrecognizable but for those enormous blue eyes. In fact, when Jake Gyllenhaal walked out on stage at the SVA Theater in Chelsea on Saturday night, a full bushy beard covering what seemed like all of his face, film critic David Denby didn’t even introduce him by name. “I don’t know who this guy is,” Denby joked. “He looked a little lost, so we invited him in.”

But who needs a big introduction when they’ve been headlining movies big and small for a full decade? 

Read the rest @ Tribeca Film

...for thoughts on Jake's acting process, his relationship with Maggie Gyllenhaal and a famous actor he would love to emulate.
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Love... (The Poster)

Gaze upon the great poster for Love and Other Drugs. It's a casually lovely earth-tone -- what with the brown backdrop and lots of flesh -- which is not a palette movie posters regularly embrace. We like it lots. But there are three totally unnecessary or faulty things about this poster...

1. Duh, the pillows.
   
2. the text "& OTHER DRUGS" is superfluous. We only want to LOVE.
3. There's a typo to your far right, bottom hand corner. It reads "NOV. 24" but I'm pretty sure they meant to say "NOW"

As in that's when we want.
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Fall Films: Harry Potter, Anne Hathaway and More

A movie tagline from Warner Bros...


Do you promise? Because I am so ready for that particular franchise to wrap up. I didn't say nice things about the Deathly Hallows in my FALL FILM PREVIEW over at Towleroad because the corporate greed has left a bad taste in my mouth. Movie tickets are like $13ish now in NYC but 3D is like $18ish so instead of people paying $13 to see the Potter finale they're going to have to pay $36. No way does that book need 5 hours to tell itself. That's like when TV series end their seasons with those bloated 2 hour finales and it's totally obvious that they're only used to dreaming up 1 hour of drama. Prepare for FILLER at high prices.

"Movies are as addictive as dope, but they are far less injurious to health and they ought not to be as expensive."
-Quentin Crisp

Anyway, that's just a small part of the article so go read it.

Which film are you most looking forward to in the next three months? I'm getting more excited about David Fincher's The Social Network which I understand would be a classy answer to the question. I like nearly all of his movies and l-o-v-e a few of them. I haven't read the rave reviews that have been making the rounds (I don't like to read reviews before watching movies) but I did think it was absurdly hilarious that Blurb Whore Peter Travers is suddenly acting like he's a tough-to-please Slant critic or something.

If it's the first film he's given 4 stars to this year, how does he explain all those 'Hallelujah i've seen the face of god in this masterpiece' type of quotes that are plastered all over 2010 movie posters just like they are every year?

This friend-of-a-friend style -"review" for Love and Other Drugs seems much less suspicious...


I don't necessarily think LaOD is going to be a great movie but it's probably the one I'm most looking forward to (prior to December that is. Black Swan is the ultimate "want now"!). That's entirely due to my twin devotion to Jack & Lureen Twist. I was watching The Devil Wears Prada again the other night (post forthcoming) and just stunned myself with how much I love looking at Anne Hathaway's face. I could watch her closeups in slo-mo for hours.

A loyal Film Experience reader who wishes to remain anonymous also saw a recent screening of LaOD and sent a few thoughts:

The movie is well above average in the world of romantic comedy, and rest assured, that's what it is. As you could clearly note from the trailer, it has all of the usual romcom trappings and succeeds primarily due to the strength of Jake & Anne's chemistry - which is ENORMOUS and immensely satisfying. I must admit, and then dodge anything you might throw my way, that I'm not a big fan of Rachel Getting Married, or Anne's performance in it. So, given that, I'd have to say that this is her best performance. It's really a perfect role for her, as it's mostly comedic (which is where she excels) with tinges of drama.

Jake pulls off the smarmy-but-charming almost George Clooney-esque character incredibly well, and his character's transformation as he becomes more involved with Anne is not necessarily written as well as it could have been, but he's great. And he ultimately sells one of the rather cliché romcom moments far better than anyone had any right to. It's really all about the two of them, so the supporting cast's screen time is quite limited, although Oliver Platt steals every scene he's in.

P.S. Jake & Anne spend like half the movie completely naked. This movie is sexxxxxxy

I ignored the heresy about not loving Anne in RGM. Wha...? We briefly talked Oscar. He thinks Anne is a real possibility but only if the movie itself gets good reviews but even though he loved it, he doubts that a movie that is essentially a romantic comedy will get much play.

Of course, there are a lot of factors involved in winning Oscar favor and the court of public opinion can be very persuasive for voters. I haven't seen the movie yet so I'm speaking generically about Oscar races. When movies are big hits, they often transcend feelings about their genre. And couldn't this be a big hit?

• Which fall film are you dying to see?
• Are you aching for a rom-com that isn't terrible? (There's been a famine)
• Do you mind parting with $36 to see the conclusion of Harry Potter?
• And I guess we should start discussing it. Do you see a bright Oscar future for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (either part)?
  

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Love and Other Drugs

The buzzy romantic dramedy set in the Viagra sales world known as Love and Other Drugs has a full trailer now. Let's give it our trademark 'Yes No Maybe So' treatment. You do the same in the comments. Because, well, it's fun. It's a healthy way to manage expectations -- You vs. the Hype! -- forcing yourself to see the potential good, bad and inbetweens of a future film experience.



Yes. It's no secret that I'm exceptionally fond of both of both Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, two of the best 20something actors on the planet.That designation won't last much longer as Anne turns 28 and Jake 30 as the year wraps up. But the thirtysomething years are often the peak ones for movie stars so if Jake & Anne raise their respective games here and really deliver as leads, we could be looking at amazing decades ahead for both of them, rather than a deflation of the early promise. At any rate, it'll be fun to see them reunited post Brokeback Mountain. I'm of the opinion that Hollywood would be smart to offer moviegoers more frequent screen pairings of actors that have already proven their chemistry. It's a through line that can make movies extra magical and it's just bewildering that Hollywood doesn't see it since as a business they love repeating past successes in just about every other way.


No. Well, there is the potential problem of this being a story we've seen a bazillion times (minus the viagra bit): cocksure young successful man who isn't the settling down type finally meets a girl who turns his world upszzzzzzzz. Sorry, I fell asleep thinking of 2,302 other movies whose names have escaped me. If these movies aren't made with great flair, they're virtually undistinguishable from each other at core.

Maybe So. This is what I find most surprising. I've never really liked an Edward Zwick picture before but I want to see this. It always seems like he's trying to win an Oscar rather than make a movie... but perhaps it's the earnest Baity historical subject matter he tends to favor that gives this impression. Maybe this more contemporary story will loosen up his direction and he will finally get that Best Picture nomination he's been chasing since the 80s. He's won the Oscar as a producer (Shakespeare in Love) but none of his own directorial efforts have been nominated. Even the ones Oscar really liked like Blood Diamond and Glory.

I'm a yes. I want to see Anne & Jake sparkling in synch. And you?
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Linkville

Serious Film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory = Se7en. lol.
The Playlist Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim) names his favorite musicals.
Low Resolution Nekked James McAvoy and the failings of the internet.

ooh, thanks E.T. LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS sneak!

i09 wonders how TV can repeat the success of Smallville. But I have to ask: why does it have to be a teen angst show? There's a million different ways of doing superheroes. Unfortunately people are only trying two of those ways. You can get away with generic at the movies while the genre is at its peak, but peaks don't last forever and if everything keeps feeling "samey" eventually people will get bored.
Geekscape 10 strangest tv and film adaptations ever.
Extra Criticum takes issue with "The New Yorker"'s take on The Kids Are All Right.

Finally, CHUD collects some photoshopped tomfoolery about Inception and calls it a "meme". Oh internets you confuse me. A meme used to just be a thing everyone was passing around like surveys or questionnaires or themes like blog-a-thons without the date specificity. Now apparently it's about lolcat style photo-captioning? I can't keep up internets. But some of them are funny so read the post. And this is really the last time I'm going to mention this movie (until precursor season at least) because I'm so bored with it now. Fast fade... just not enough left to the imagination so how can the imagination stay engaged?

25th Anniversary: Cinema's First Viagra Joke

I was recently debating how best to cover older cinema (it's so haphazard) and decided prematurely on a 25|50|75 approach. Hence all these 1985 posts. Now, I'm thinking that's too limited since how many posts in 2010 can you really take which obsess over 1985, 1960 and 1935? I must rethink. Nevertheless in researching the summer months a few weeks, I jotted down today's date as the 25th anniversary of Cocoon (1985).

At the risk of attracting a year's worth of both spam and funny looks in one single post, I felt compelled to commemorate the cinema's first Viagra joke. Literally the only memory I had of Cocoon in 2010 was that a group of old men got boners when they swam with magical aliens.

Don Ameche: You got a boner, too?
Wilford Brimley: Blue Steel. Cat couldn't scratch it.
Hume Cronyn: I thought I was the only one.

I should tell you upfront that I remembered this scene wrong. But my point is that I remembered it. For 25 years. I was horrified that old men were talking about boners back then. I wasn't as mature as I am now whilst typing about boner jokes. No kid today will ever remember a 2010 old man boner joke in 2035. Thanks to viagra those jokes are now a dime a dozen which is undoubtedly cheaper than Viagra.

Come to think of it The Golden Girls were right around this time period, too, weren't they? Why were old people so horny in the 80s? And why were aliens always friendly? Different times.


Why anybody would need magical alien water for uh... upkeep... when Steve Guttenberg has his shirt off for the entire movie is a mystery that can never be solved.

Another mystery that can never be solved: Guttenberg's alien girlfriend prefers to have sex with him without touching him.

"If this is foreplay I'm a dead man"

Yet another 1985 mystery that can never be solved: Don Ameche's Supporting Actor Oscar.

Was there any decade weirder than the 80s?

In just a few months we're getting a true story biographical dramedy about the invention of Viagra called Love and Other Drugs (2010). [tangent: I wonder why we haven't seen any stills or a teaser yet?] Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway are the stars which is totally appropriate because they're essentially cinematic blue pills themselves. Or so I...uh... hear. You should watch them one hour before engaging in... uh... never mind.

Where am I going with this?

Unnhh, well.

Okay, there's this Meryl Streep movie waiting in my mailbox that I wanted to write about and I've lost my mailbox key. You got this post instead and I really can't apologize enough.
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Oscar Prediction Discussables, The Actresses!

The first Oscar predictions of the year are complete. Woo-hoo. These are always both fun and aggravating to do. I love being proven both wrong and right. New film years offer so much promise of success, failure, and everything inbetween.


My own excitement for Darren Aronofsky's freaked-out ballerinas picture Black Swan is all intermingled with my fears that no matter how good it is (assuming that it's good), Oscar voters have notorious trouble embracing the visionaries until they really do something middlebrow (case in point: David Fincher and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Black Swan sounds way too weird to be middlebrow... but, then, so did Button come to think of it.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and predict Natalie Portman for Best Actress anyway. Oscar has embraced histrionic ballet stars before (The Turning Point, anyone?) And even if voters are still wary of Aronofsky (how has he not been nominated yet? Argh!) they do recognize his enviable skill with actors, as evidenced by the nominations from Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler.

In the end, these are the dozen performances I (currently) feel we should most keep an eye on for Oscar play

• Hiam Abbas in Miral (though I could also see this as supporting)
  
• Annette Bening for Mother and Child or The Kids Are All Right
  
• Anne Hathaway for Love and Other Drugs
• Nicole Kidman down the Rabbit Hole
• Diane Lane for Secretariat
• Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone
• Lesley Manville has Another Year
• Julianne Moore thinks The Kids Are All Right
  
• Natalie Portman in Black Swan
• Julia Roberts for Eat Pray Love
  
• Robin Wright Penn as The Conspirator

The red highlights are my predicted nominees but visit the Best Actress page for more details as to why I chose who I chose.

I've also posted the Supporting Actress hunches -- which includes Helena Bonham-Carter in The King's Speech -- though in truth I didn't really have any hunches. Ha! That's the way it goes sometimes.

Early Bird Oscar Predictions
Complete!

I'd love to hear your feelings on these two actress categories. Next week, after I've had time to examine and build spreadsheets, I'll share your communal prediction for Best Actress from the "Actress Psychic" contest. It's always interesting to note what Consensus imagines about something so intangible.

We Can't Wait: LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS

Hello, everybody. It's JA from MNPP offering up my poor lil' orphaned movie that nobody wants to see but me. Sad face.

Love and Other Drugs
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Judy Greer, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria

Synopsis: Based on Jamie Reidy's memoir Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, this is the movie that brings the world Jake Gyllenhaal hawking boner pills and wearing a crotch merkin whilst romping with Annie again. Brokeback reunion, yo!

Brought to you by: 20th Century Fox
Expected release date: Nothing solid yet but it seems like a late September-ish movie, doesn't it?

Honestly I was sold the minute I heard "Jake Gyllenhaal" and "Viagra" in the same sentence. And then he went on Jimmy Kimmel and talked about all the naked rolling around he was doing with Annie and my expectations pretty much took the natural path unto the stratosphere from there.

But in looking up more info on the film so I could say something more than "Jake Gyllenhaal and boner jokes!" I discovered a couple of things. Firstly that Judy Greer's in the film, and I've expressed my love for Miss Greer here at The Film Experience just recently.

And secondly, they're via IMDb so who knows if they're plants but I read a couple of early reviews of the film (spoilers at the link) and wowza it sounds fun. I'm not much of a Zwick fan really but this is so different from the mopey serious dramas he's been telling for ages now so who knows what's in store?

Oh and Annie's playing Parkinsons. Could there be a nomination in there, or will the film be too silly for that? Anybody read the book?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.
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