Jackie Beat superstar drag icon reviews The Stepford Wives (1975). Cinema Blend Katey's top 10 list. I forgot to link up at the time but I'm always curious what friends will choose. We're about to record a podcast. Wheeee. CineEuropa reviews the Macedonian Oscar entry Mothers.
I read this book. Thought it could be really cinematic. But only if they bucked the trend of super faithful adaptations. Books are not movies!
Release Dates
Just Jared Tom Hardy as The Warrior gets a release date, September 9th. Lady Gaga "Born This Way" on May 23rd. Coming SoonWater For Elephants has a new still (to your left) and opens on April 22nd. PlayBill looks at the upcoming Broadway openings. (Honestly, it seems like half of the shows running closed today, January 2nd, 2011.) IndieWire looks at which 2011 releases will reflect 2010 releases. Some are obvious: 2011's Black Swan is The Wolverine. Some not so much.
Also...
The new site is up (mostly) -- it seems to be flickering in and out but should be running smoothly within the next couple of days. Still working on importing the blog. But you can see the new Oscar predictions and what not. If you're lucky. If not, try again later.
Believe it or not -- but you should believe it! -- I made it a full week without the internet. Go Nathaniel! I didn't even use my iPhone but for texting to make sure the catsitting was going okay.
I'm glad to be back online but a detox was in order. The last time I went a week without staring at computer screens was... well... um... I... errrrr.... unh let's see now...
never?
This was a strange challenge to give myself in Iceland of all places which prides itself on its connectivity; reportedly 97% of the population uses the internet which makes them the #1 country percentage wise, if not in total users. By contrast the US claims 77% penetration and the UK 82%.
But now I'm back to my life made by for through around inside fused with enslaved to and on the internet.
LINKS. Here's a couple handful to read while I write some new posts. And yes, I'll tell you 'bout my trip soon. I'll try to make it cinematic. And if not, I'll make it brief.
AV Club "Lights! Camera! Deconstruction!" on films that double as film criticism. Some unexpected choices but really interesting write-ups. Tribeca Film "Awards Season Begins... When?" Some thoughts (from moi) on the always amorphous beginning of the season. FWIW, the NBR makes their announcement on December 2nd, just 15 days from now. Awards Daily Palm Springs puts a checkmark in the Firth & Portman awards chart columns. Pop Elegantarium dressed up her daughter for Halloween in a way you cinephiles will just love. Get those babies started on loving movies early! I meant to link to this weeks ago but isn't it awesome?
Multitudes of Harry
Forbes "Highest Earning Female Entertainers". These lists always freak me out partially because the numbers seem so absurd. Most people could live quite comfortably for their entire life on 1/10th (or less) of what any of these women make in a year. Which is why it's kind of funny/surreal that online coverage of these lists is usually along the sympathy-seeking lines of "if only they could earn as much as the men!" Sandra Bullock is the only actress on the list, the rest being pop stars and TV hosts. Stale Popcorn reviews Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 but more importantly, he expresses relief that a lot of very talented people will soon be free to explore new worlds: Stuart Craig and Jany Temime, you're about to be sprung from Azkaban! My New Plaid Pants likes 127 Hours with the same approximate muchness as I. Serious Film has some issues with some readings of Clint Eastwood's Hereafter. In Contention looks at Jennifer Hudson in Winnie.
And y'all know I'm excited about The Return of Cher. Here she is -- it looks like she's about to lick her lips and break into song -- at the Burlesque premiere.
I know a lot of people think Burlesque will be terrible but I don't much care. Don't care how I get her. Just want her. It's been way too long. I'd link you to her new song "Welcome to Burlesque" but the links keep breaking.
Finally... Since I am now getting back to work I must thank my two handfuls of guest bloggers who did a fine job while I was away. So thank you to TFE's regular weekly columnists: Robert, Michael, Craig & Alexa; frequent well loved guest stars JAand Jose; returning subs Timothy, Glenn and Erich; and first-timer Kurtis from 'Your Movie Buddy' who I interrogated about Iceland before I left. A warm round of applause for all. If you click on their names, you can visit their own wonderful blogs.
Final Girl an exorcism movie flowchart. Hilarious even if you're not a horror fan. Journalistic Skepticism I love this. "25 Most Optimum Film Residences". I think I'm going to go with the Pink Palace Apartments (as long as it comes with the cat), Howards End or Erica's Beach House from Something's Gotta Give (Nancy Meyers movies are real estate porn.)
Hollywood Reporter Actress Cammie Conlon (famously known as "Bonnie Blue Butler" in Gone With the Wind) has died. RIP Greenbriar Picture Show "Fairy Dust Blown Off..." on the appeal and arguable repeal of Audrey Hepburn. Just Jared Karl June on the set of the new Hugh Jackman picture Real Steel. I didn't know they were filming in Detroit. This means that right now as I type this, Hugh is wandering around my home state! MNPP Another convert to Animal Kingdom. Let's hope the Aussie flick keeps building. I Need My Fix Lindsay Lohan goes to the movies. Like this blog, I think this is a step in the right direction. But I still have a concern: which movie? Cuz, that's an important thing to know.
And over at Serious Film a question: "How about a little fire, scarecrow?" Have you ever noticed this bit in The Wizard of Oz? On a related side note I would like to note that Michael who runs Serious Film will be joining the Film Experience team this week with a new weekly column I think you'll enjoy. Welcome, Michael!
One more to go...
Disney Pixar has released several production images from the abandoned Pixar film Newt (2011). They look beautiful, no surprise. I realize that everyone thinks Pixar is infallible but something tells me it's downhill from Toy Story 3. The recent abandoning of original projects like this coupled with a new focus on sequels no one needs (Cars, Monsters Inc and the inevitable Toy Story 4) suggests to me... well, it isn't good omens. It just feels reminiscent of how every other studio behaves. And no other studio is as consistently grand as Pixar ... so why should Pixar start emulating the others?
TV's greatest show has a love affair with the movies. So we have a love affair with TV's greatest show. We call it Mad Men @ The Movies.
The world premiere party for Mad Men Season 4 kicked off in Times Square a few hours before the show on Sunday night. I was honored to be invited so I must give thanks to the wonderful Lipp sisters of Basket of Kisses who always keep me in the swing of things when it comes to Sterling Cooper, excuse me, SCDP (Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce). It's always good to hang with the vivacious Lipps and I also got to chat with other MM fans including the adorable talented Carol Hannah of Project Runway fame.
The VIP crowd got Barbies. I managed to procure a Don & Betty set. (More on these dolls here. They retail for $75)
Left: Me (the hat was with the gift bag); Right: Girl from costume contest. I didn't catch her name but that's totally a Betty dress (the Barbie is wearing that same dress, albeit in miniature). She bought it on eBay which the judges called cheating.
This is the whole crowd shortly before the actresses arrived (hence the empty front row). I've circled the Lipp Sisters up front, true VIPs, and then that's me, further back to the side. It was a good crowd. Lots of rubbernecking on the street.
The evening came with two trivia contests (Pt 1 too easy / Pt 2 just right), two celebrity cameos from "Peggy" (Elisabeth Moss) and "Betty" January Jones who is sexy and statuesque in person and looks nothing like Elizabeth Hofstadt Draper Francis without the 60s costumes and hairstyling. My only gripe about the evening was that the panel of judges for the costume contest was quippy/bitchy to the contestants and, this being a fan event, more softball American Idol style criticisms were the way to go. If you have to criticize, tell them you love them first. They're fans. They aren't professional costumers.
January Jones and Elisabeth Moss. They joked that they were nothing like their characters but they were maybe like each other's characters. haha. The crowd sang Moss happy birthday and they wheeled out a cake.
The view from my seat. A crowded stage for the costume contest.
The strangest thing that happened at the event (for me... few noticed) was just outside of it. Before the actual screening, two teenage girls to the left of me on the street just outside the VIP area starting screaming. I turned to see what the commotion was about. There was a young guy, perfectly coiffed and teen idol fresh (he couldn't have been over 17, if that) who agreed to sign autographs for them. He was not with the Mad Men event, just walking through Times Square and had stopped momentarily to look at the party. The two teen girls were crying and hysterical and one even tried to touch his hair, her fingers visibly shaking like he was a hot stove and she just wanted to know what it would feel like... just this one time! Her friend slapped her hand away before the burn, both of them crying. Since he had bent over to sign something, he didn't even notice. I have no idea who this person was, but he handled it like a pro, smiling, asking where they were from ("O h h h i i i o" warbled through tears).
I've decided he was from the Disney Channel since that's where all the "stars" that I've never heard of or don't recognize come from. The girl he was with was visibly annoyed by the hysterics but stayed off to the side, dutifully, before grabbing his arm to pull him from a potential mob scene. No one else mobbed and suddenly they were gone. I'm surprised anyone is ever recognized in Times Square. It's always so crowded that you can barely spot your loved ones if you get separated, let alone a celebrity in their off duty hours.
Where were we?
This post is going to be so long. Oh yes, Mad Men. Here's what you missed in the first three seasons if you're planning to start now...
On to Season 4 and its movie-loving ways... however those turn out.
Episode 4.1 "Public Relations" My preferred title How Draper Got His Groove Back. In this episode, we try to get acclimated to the new offices (there's too many doors. I miss the open space), new characters (who is Peggy's co-worker? Love Henry Francis's mom played by Pamela Dunlap) while trying to stay patient (What is going on with Joanie's marriage? Where the hell is Ken Cosgrove?). Don reminds us of his movie-loving ways early in the episode through his pride in a commercial that plays like a movie. Plotwise Don and Peggy both make separate PR blunders. By episode's end Peggy gets an angry earful and Don gets his mojo back, professionally speaking.
On the personal life side, he's still a trainwreck. He's even blind dating ...and letting Roger, whose lovelife he doesn't exactly approve of, set him up.
Roger: Forget that she knows Jane. This girl's terrific. She looks like Virginia Mayo. She's 25. See her this weekend. You hit it off, come Turkey day you can stuff her.
Hmmm. Does Anna Camp (from True Blood) playing "Bethany" look like Virginia Mayo? You be the judge.
In a strange coincidence I was just watching Virginia Mayo in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). She's terrific as the trashy restless wife of Dana Andrews. (That movie is so great.) People don't really speak much of Mayo these days but referencing her apple cheeked pinup looks is most definitely a compliment. She was a frequent movie presence from the early 40s through the late 50s. In addition to the aforementioned Best Picture winner, she's probably best remembered for noirs like White Heat and frequent Danny Kaye comedies including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. She died just five years ago at the age of 84.
Mayo with Danny Kaye and with Dana Andrews
other references in this episode: (Music) novelty single "John & Marsha" (Magazines/Papers) Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, The Daily News (Celebrities) Luci & Dezi
* * Did you see this episode? If so, your comments please. If not, speak up anyway. How cool are those Barbie dolls? Or are you sick of the hype? (If you are, please note that there will be only one Mad Men post a week, Mondays, starting now.)
Further reading? Gold Derby thinks Mad Men is well timed for an Emmy 3peat. The Loop publishes a satirical letter from "Carla," the Draper maid. The Loop also has a rebuttal of sort. Claiming that the show isn't diverse enough is entirely missing the point. Cinematic Passions interviews costume designer Janie Bryant Inside Scoop bring back chicken kiev. Mad Men Unbuttoned the tune that's playing when Don gets his groove back. Put This On imagines how Draper would look in the WSJ. Love. Cinema Blend Sugarberry Hams for everyone. A ratings uptick. Best Week Ever gives funny recap...and awards. *
Just two years after landing her first Oscar nod for Rachel Getting Married, Princess Anne Hathaway can now add Emmy nominee to her honors.
She won the notice for voicing Penelope Mountbatten-Hohenzollern-Mulan-Pocahontas or "Princess Penelope" for short on The Simpsons. Considering she also wins raves on stage (see Twelfth Night in Central Park from previous season) and she can sing, she's got multiple awards in her future. How many years until she's a triple crowner or even an EGOT winner.
Her competition in the Outstanding Voice-Over Emmy category: H Jon Benjamin for Archer, Dave Foley for Disney Prep & Landing, Seth Green for Robot Chicken, and Dan Castellanata and Hank Azaria from The Simpsons.
Further Reading Cinema Blend Read Katey Rich's best & worst from the nominee pool. Gold Derby Rob Licuria gives his good bad and ugly take on the noms. Low Resolution Joe Reid's take on the nominations. Fun notes.
Stale Popcorn Glenn is a crazy person. Glenn is a crazy person that I love. He's decided to review the Scream trilogy. Every scene of it. Starting with Drew Barrymore's fateful phone call of course. You do know that Michelle Pfeiffer loves this performance don't you? Well she does. So does everyone, right? Hollywood News Scott Feinberg believes the Academy should have two Best Picture voting rounds /Film Daniel Radcliffe to star in remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. Uh, good luck measuring up, people. Why? Coming Soon Matt Damon making a zookeeper movie. I always thought someone should make a cable series about a zoo. One of the many unexplored work places of the world. Cinema Styles "I Hate All of You" a post for those caught daily in the movie buff blog loop
In Contention sings Mark Ruffalo's praises for The Kids Are All Right. I can't wait for all of you to see it. He's marvelous in the movie. My New Plaid Pants JA reviews Jonah Hex with its Fox waist, Brolin scars, and three thousand Fassbender teeth. Cinematical cries uncle about Hollywood's 1984 obsession and offers up a few more remake options. Micki & Maude anyone? A Socialite's Life Cyndi Lauper is getting her own reality series. Birth of a Notion look back at the opening sequence of Jaws. Pixar Blog You can now buy the wonderful new short Day & Night at iTunes
Broadway.com informs that NY theater comic star Jackie Hoffman who you may have seen in the Broadway runs of Hairspray or Xanadu (she's currently playing "Grandma" in The Addams Family) is "OLD LADY GAGA"...lol
<--- Mrs. Best Actress and Mr. Best Actor, 1954. But OOPS. Marlon Brando won but Judy didn't.
Judy Garland breaks my heart every time she warbles a note. Someone once ridiculed me in college for this. "It's an old school gay cliché," He said. "You weren't born in the 1940s for goddsakes." But, reader, I firmly believe it's a sign of weak (or dull) character when people only care about the culture and entertainment that's happening in their own lifetime. The best people always transcend space and time, allowing whatever will speak to them to speak to them, no matter the country of origin, decade or even century. I mean if kabuki theater, Gregorian chants, 90s sitcoms or silent film divas are your things, obsess on them please. Life is too short to let cultural experience be completely defined by the day's studio heads, record executives or marketing gurus... not to mention peer pressure. Enjoy what you enjoy.
So anyway, this morning I must bow down to Nick who completed his Best Actress Project by screening Judy's A Star is Born (1954). Though I don't recommend YOU save it for your last one (just save it until later this month when the newly restored edition of the film arrives for home viewing). It's an accidentally perfect closing film because it is...great
contains phenomenal actressing
actually about the movie industry
Oscar obsessed. Oscar Night is a big plot point
TRIVIA BUFFS: Come to think, regarding #4, has anyone who ever pretended to win an Oscar in a movie, won one? I can't think of a single example. Maybe it's a curse? But then only two cases spring immediately to mind Matt Dillon in In & Out (1997) and Judy in A Star is Born. Are there more? Have I forgotten something obvious?
Anyway. You must see Nick "Faye" Davis's 'Morning After' staged photo as well and please comment there to encourage him to expand all of this into a print book. Here's what I had to say.
I would buy a copy of the book every time I met another actressexual and give it as a 'Hello New Friend' gift. And I would buy a copy for every 5 star actress that I also think is 5 star and ship it to her management.
And I'd keep 4 copies for myself: One signed by you; One for note taking; One to keep in pristine condition; And the final one to use as bludgeoning device should I ever meet an Academy member who doesn't take their voting in this category seriously.
And I meant it! (Well maybe not the first paragraph. That might get expensive in my line of work.)
But back to Judy. In his article, Nick says what will surely be fighting words to some
Garland is beyond being the best of her group, which is hardly a shabby one. She's one Blanche DuBois away from being the strongest nominee of her decade.
I wholeheartedly agree that she's the best of the '54 crop and I'd rank them like so: Garland, Wyman, Hepburn, Dandridge, Kelly... yes, the winner being my least favorite is not an uncommon trend. And Kelly was better in Rear Window (same year) anyway.
But Nick's provocative statement got me thinking about the 50s performances that I still haven't seen and the ones I'd rank as very best. From what I've seen so far, my 5 favorites from the decade are (in alpha order).
Bette Davis, All About Eve (50)
Judy Garland, A Star is Born (54)
Judy Holliday, Born Yesterday (50)
Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire (51)
Anna Magnani, The Rose Tattoo (55)
Gloria Swanson, Sunset Boulevard (50)
Oops, that's 6! But who to leave out? I already had to part with the Woodwardian amazement that is TheThree Faces of Eve. What is your list like for the 1950s? And if you haven't seen many -- you gotta start somewhere and maybe it isn't in the 50s -- which performances are you most curious about based on what you've heard and read over the years you've been actress-curious?
/Film Jamie Bell may have just been cast as the new Spider-Man. Ah, I knew Marc Webb had good taste (with (500) Days of Summer as evidence) Trespass Magazine Glenn interviews movie poster maestro Jeremy Saunders, who designed this year's fb gold medal winner for poster (Antichrist). Little Gold Men Sandra Bullock sapphic smooches, part two. The TV Addict Katharine Heigl's career killer Killers ?
Deviant Art a fan made poster for The Avengers. This movie will have to give blind men back their sight and maybe part oceans to live up to fanboy expectations. Movie|Line Luke Evans is on "the Verge". He also wants to star in a film version of Miss Saigon so good on him. Towleroad Apparently Elton John is going to perform at Rush Limbaugh's wedding. Money may be the reason but it's not like Elton needs any more of it. What a traitor. I've only ever bought two Elton John records in my lifetime but now I'm wishing I hadn't given him a lone dime. OMG "Make Homosexuals Marry" Actors Justin Long & Mike White tie the knot excruciatingly tight in this campaign vid. Newsweek on Italy Porn Movies like Eat Pray Love and I Am Love
...one of the earliest surviving narratives shot on location in Yosemite Valley. The one-reeler shows the magnificent terrain prior to the creation of the National Park Service, when U.S. Army cavalry troops kept order, and it is the military presence that provides the backdrop for the story.
The second is from 1912, another western called The Better Man. That blog-a-thon which was hosted by Marilyn Ferdinand and Self Styled Siren is still taking donations so maybe a third film can be saved! It's a worthy cause if you have the cash.
Hollywood's millionaires and its behemoth corporations could do a lot more to preserve old films -- imagine how many silents could be saved if like one single day's profits (or hell even one showing's) from any of those soulless blockbusters were so directed -- but at least we have devoted cinephiles and government funding helping to preserve cinematic history.
Uh... I got a little carried away. Enjoy the ones you will
JACKintheblog 'Is it just me or does Jake Gyllenhaal look...' Everything I Know responds to EW's list of "greatest characters" with a few theatrical suggestions. EW only allowed for two stage characters. EW sucks at list-making. They're always pandering to the OMGRIGHTNOW CHUD Austin Texas' great theater The Alamo Drafthouse could be coming to your city. I've only been to Austin once and I only peeked at the exterior but I would go there so often... The Pixar Blog "Groovin' With Ken" an interview clip that's not in Toy Story 3 The Telegraph Tim Robey on Mark Ruffalo, The Unpretentious Leading Man Dark Eye Socket What the 00's meant to TFE contributor Craig. It's never too late for a list! Dear Old Hollywood looks at Bette Davis early homes in California Anomalous Material is hosting a "greatest comedy of all time" tournament. Let them know what makes you laugh the hardest Movies Kick Ass "A woman's right to shoes" on Dorothy & her ruby slippers. This is part of... Encore's Movie Musicals Blog-a-Thon which I didn't know about in time. Ah well.
Sex? i cite has a thorough piece up about what critics missed in their savage takedowns of Sex and the City 2. Great read, though I wish I had enjoyed the movie this much! For me it's a miss The Film Doctor 'don't leave me hangin' here'... a discussion about the movie that I appreciate because it's not OTT histrionic / hateful. There's very few discussions of that movie that aren't. And speaking of... The Telegraph Tim Robey discusses "Sex and the City and the Art of the Pan" citing hilarious takedowns of this film and other hated films. Huffington Post dating lesssons from the fab four Tim Seidell equates Sex & the City to Star Wars. Seriously, he does. Original trilogy and 'prequel trilogy' and all Sling Blog 5 pop culture hits besides SatC that were savaged by audiences that they weren't remotely intended to be enjoyed by
Finally... Nicks Flick Picks has reached the final 10 in his Best Actress Project. Incredibly he will soon have seen every Best Actress nominee. Latest writeups: Bergman's Anastasia and Irene Dunne in Love Affair. He's got two of my all time favorite nominees coming up in his final 8 screenings: Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Judy Garland in A Star is Born (1954). I'm prepared for the worst. Though Nick and I are great friends we disagree surprisingly often on the subject of Actress so I have no expectations as to how he'll respond.
P.S. Don't even ask how close I am to having seen all 408 performances. So much left to see. At least that means multiple pleasures await.
Mike i.e. Goatdog (of the Best Pictures From the Outside In series) was visiting from the Windy City this past weekend. He brought the wind with him. It was so strong and crazy that he cracked "I think we're going to land on someone's sister". Hee!
We took in the "American Woman" exhibit at the Met. They had a section on Screen Sirens so... that's always one way to hook the cinephiles. Only one section was about the movies but I was reminded of other movies a few times as the decades past by: Howard's End and Thoroughly Modern Millie in particular.
It was a costume exhibit mostly, which covered the long slow rise of female liberation.
Reminders that it took multiple decades to get half of the population something as obvious as the right to vote suddenly gives you perspective about how slow progress is. And it reminds you that today's civil rights struggles will pay off... eventually. The problem is there's always huge conservative forces working against progress. And they're always so proud of it at the time. Decades later their ancestors will watch a period movie about some civil rights struggle and everyone will cluck at the screen and feel confident that they would have been on the progressive side and 'how horrible that people treat [fill in blank with any minority] this way!'. And they won't see the hypocritical parallel when they vote against whatever is the new civil rights struggle.
This is the way history (and movies about it) goes...and why everyone should stop fighting against other people's rights fer chrissakes [/soapbox]
It was totally fun to see how one decade would bleed into the next fashion-wise... but you know how I get about costume design. The whole thing made me long for a really great epic about the Suffragette movement. I love the "Sister Suffragette" number from Mary Poppins but it does depress me a little that that's my chief touchstone, cinematically speaking. Or am I missing some great obscure drama?
I also think we need a really big budget eye candy movie about flappers. My favorite fashion evolution was watching the slim androgynous lines of the flapper dresses morphing into the sleek but very feminine dresses of Hollywood's golden age.
The tail end of the exhibit, before you exit from the gift shop, is a circular room filled with costumes one might easily have seen in 30s and 40s movies with huge looping clip reels of greats like Jean Harlow, Katharine Hepburn and Rita Hayworth. A Norma Shearer vs. Joan Crawford clip from The Women, which I've seen a trillion times, was made fresh by Mike's Old Hollywood knowledge. He pointed out the ample display of Joan Crawford's legs while Norma is only shot from the waist up or covered up with a huge full skirt. I guess they rarely showed Norma's legs because they were considered unsexy/stumpy? It's another variation on Natalie Wood's bracelet (she was uncomfortable about her left wrist) or Barbra Streisand's 'only from the left side' profile edict.
One of my favorite things about hanging out with fellow movie-obsessives is that you can make bad jokes and constant movie references all day and no one looks at you funny but instead plays along. Right before leaving the museum for dinner we chanced upon this statue of Cleopatra.
Nathaniel: I want my money back. This looks nothing like Liz Taylor. Mike: OR Claudette Colbert.
The American Woman exhibit runs through August 15th and you can see a slideshow (partial) here. If you missed the celebrity attended opening last week you can see pics here.
Robert begins his daily Cannes roundup tomorrow afternoon and Julien you'll hear from soon directly from France. I'll pop in occassionally with snippets for those of you who aren't tweeting or are just plain desperate to see what Cate Blanchett is wearing.
Here are my nine favorite recent tweets from Cannes
You know @guylodge of In Contention (made breathless by the Blanchett) and Sasha from AwardsDaily well. I believe both of them are at Cannes for the first time this year. Maybe next year or the year after or the year after (when will my ship come in?) I'll be able to pop my Cannes cherry. @jamesrocchi is totally worth following if you aren't already.
Tweets from @anupamachopra on market titles (always a curious bunch of films), slashfilm (everyone seems to think this Robin Hood is problematic) and @akstanwyck from Thompson on Hollywood who asks if Russell Crowe's arrogance surprises.
But yes... yes... Blanchett. You're here for the pictures of the red carpet queen.
Cate at the photo call | Cate at at the premiere
She is beautiful in 3 dimensions, though only 2 are represented her... and in Robin Hood for that matter. (Ridley Scott could not attend the festivities due to recent surgeries so we wish him well.)
cinema stale popcorn is counting down the 00s in a comprehensively personal way. Love it 92nd Street Y are you going to the Grease 2 Sing-along? serious film wonders what film might eventually throw Citizen Kane from its "greatest" throne hot blog James Cameron discusses science in his science fiction. I love this bit
Asked whether the Alien or a Na'vi would win a fight, Cameron's answer was, "Sigourney (Weaver) would win."
Heh and duh!
/film Ang Lee and the Life of Pi in 3-D thompson on hollywood talks with Annette Bening about her awards-contender roles in Mother and Child and The Kids Are All Right natashavc young hollywood '98 fetal flashback: Reese & Ryan movies kick ass talks up Oscar's 1964 Best Actor race with friends
small screendiversion critical condition a great thinky piece on Glee's Madonna episode i need my fix an evening with Glee what's good... let's hear it for Jonathan Groff's agent newnownext rich from fourfour visits the set of RuPaul's Drag Race. Lengthy interesting piece with wonderful photos
back to big Finally, I just wanted to draw your attention to a great reunion pic: Juliette Lewis and Robert DeNiro at the Tribeca Film Festival!
DeNiro showed up at the party for Juliette's latest pic Metropia (she's not in it -- sigh -- just voicework). I mean seeing these two together again is just bananas. The last time I saw them together Juliette was sucking on Bobby's thumb. Which was also bananas. In both connotative senses of the fruit.
At the risk of embarassing one of my best friends, I must ask that if you ever meet Nick Davis you demand to hear his Juliette/Cape Fear voice. It's so unnervingly spot on that the first time he did it for me it made me love both him and Juliette more. And I didn't think I could in either case! So while I'm spreading the link love, please note that Nick is still on his best actress tear having recently written up performances by Ann-Margret, Jane Wyman, Talia Shire and, most controversially, Maggie Smith. Read 'em.
popbytes Kate Winslet as Mildred Pierce. Have a looksee Huffington Post rightly declares that Christina Hendricks is looking way too much like Julianne Moore in Esquire. But now that she's pulled off that trick, can we have some big movie roles please? Critical Condition investigates Iceland in the movies. Very cool topic. I'm possibly going to Iceland for the first time this year. We've been planning it forevah The Big Picture bemoans the Oscarlessness of the late great film editor Dede Allen. Such a giant of the field and I didn't know she'd died since I've been film festivalling :( Movies Kick Ass ♥ Jayma Mays on Glee. As do I Back Stage Blog Stage Despite critical drubbings, Addams Family could well win big at the Tony Awards this summer. One wonders when we'll get another stage musical based on a movie that's actually good enough to move back to the movies (see Hairspray)
Finally, I hope you've visited me pal Nick's site Nick's Flick Picks recently...
He's really outdone himself with three evocative portraits of Oscar winning actresses: Julie Christie, Jessica Lange and Emma Thompson. His beautiful incisive studies of these legends are more than a little intimidating but so worth having in the world. My favorite is the one on Christie. I don't share Nick's love of Lange but neither is it a crime to look at her. His writeup helps me understand what some think all the fuss is (or was) about. *
Editor's note: This post is from Craig ofDark Eye Socket, which I've been enjoying a lot lately. I invited him because he wanted to talk about Abbie and I'm all ears! Next up for Abbie are two supporting roles in Zach Snyder's Alice in Wonderland inspired Sucker Punch and Madonna's period romantic drama W.E. Do you want more Abbie soon?
Abbie didn't look upset 'bout that snub at Vanity Fair's post-Oscar bash
Abbie Cornish was a Bright Star last year, but five years ago she shone bright enough, in her debut lead role in Somersault, to get noticed snagging three Australian acting awards. As Heidi, a girl who escapes the dullness of small-town Canberra for a ski resort in Jindabyne, she clapped and gleamed her way to a more eventful life and a near seduction of pre-Action Man Sam Worthington. Nice idea, Abs.
Since then, she’s steadily honed her talents in a handful of higher profile films which have all made great use of her ability to be both subtle and determined. Her bohemian defiance in Candy, followed by sterling support in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and A Good Year – then hooking up with Ryan Phillippe (much to the future chagrin of Reese Witherspoon) on Stop-Loss, and providing muse duties for Ben Whishaw on Bright Star – have given Cornish ample chance to re-ignite the screen in the years since her Somersaulting turn. That she’s only sparkled at half-brightness so far (in some folks’ eyes) merely points to the fact she’s in it for the long haul, not the quick trip: she’s eking out an enduring résumé; her future’s brighter.
The mid-‘00s saw a surplus of flighty females coax guys into their orbits: Zooey Deschanel in All the Real Girls, Julie Delpy in Before Sunset and – to the tune of an Oscar nod – Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine, to name three, all deservedly gained critical attention. But Cornish’s equally deserving Somersault role, despite the three awards, didn’t inspire quite as much universal adoration. Like that film’s landscapes, maybe she’s seen as a touch too frosty, too oblique for wider appeal. Maybe some folk don’t like that she hangs with the guys too much (most of her co-stars have been male) – something that got Heidi into hot water in Somersault. And she hasn’t exactly taken roles which have been too easy to warm to. But stick to your guns Abbie - more power to you, I say.
She gave one of ‘09’s best performances in Bright Star (couldn’t they have extended the acting categories to ten, too?), but is she still too much the newcomer to appear on Oscar’s radar yet? Recent nominations say otherwise: Carey Mulligan, another demure and elfin movie novice, got an early stab at Oscar; the Academy loved a quirky Ellen Page and a corseted Keira Knightley; and Hathaway and Portman got to make a grab for the bald man. Cornish will just have to wait her turn. Maybe in time she’ll prove herself a capable comedienne and do a Bullock, or take a left turn down the Jennifer Jason Leigh route. A role in a Kathryn Bigelow flick wouldn’t do any harm right now either.
Somersault gave Cornish her best role yet. She was awkwardly, intimately indefinable; viewers, like the film’s characters, skirted around her, curious to see what she'd do next. It was a subtly immersive performance, one that’s perhaps characterised Cornish’s career so far. To paraphrase Bright Star’s strapline: First Roles Burn Brightest. *
Joe, Katey and I are back, talking about Hollywood's High Holy Night. As per usual I'm having lots of bandwidth financial drama so I've had to bare-bones the original site (only this year's awardage and Oscars being available) but you can download the podcast from MediaFire or nab it from Rapid Share (Even iTunes seems to be charging me money... which I don't recall happening before. Woe to the technologically stoopid ...i.e. me!)
This podcast is brought to you completely unedited in a wild attempt to exorcise my control freak demons.
Discussed James Cameron, 3D as the future of cinema (and the past of cinema), The Last Station, Avatar, the box office of the Best Pictures then and now, RomCom Queens and Oscar, Adam Shankman and Oscars 'as you've never seen them', Dave Karger's doubts about The Hurt Locker, Sandra Bullock 'learning her place', the Precious resurgence, self-fulfilling prediction prophesies and "Oscar Stories", Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jeremy Renner.
Questions:
"The real nominees"... are they the ones everyone assumes they were? Nathaniel's not so sure.
What on earth will it take for Meryl Streep to win a 3rd?
What will the future hold for Carey Mulligan and Gabby Sidibe?
With odd cameos from: Alfred Molina, Brokeback Mountain, Randy Newman, Kathryn Grayson, Katharine Hepburn, Chris O'Donnell, Sigourney Weaver. And Kathryn Bigelow on bass.
Previously on the Symposium: Nathaniel was talking about Tarantino's mastery of 'The Moment' and how it excuses his messy indulgences elsewhere. As a filmmaker he's a perfect match for our DVD chapter-menu culture
Guy Lodge: I think it's a spot-on point, and I'm both intrigued and troubled by the idea of Basterds being a success story of latter-day audience inclination to edit their own movies. My problem is that, while I'm as capable as anyone else of filleting out treasurable moments -- -- "Attendez la crème!" -- from the sheer morass of stuff in the film, my brain can't blithely discard the missteps as you imply others can. For much sorrier reasons, the wincingly awful appearance of Eli Roth burns as brightly in my memory as that exquisitely extended opening sequence, so much so that one can't eclipse the other.
But I think you've latched onto a selectivity that has boosted the fortunes of a number of contenders this year besides Basterds: everyone has cut out and stuck the 'Married Life' sequence of Up into their cinematic scrapbooks, but who really wants the rest? Precious, whatever your take on it, is made for mental re-editing -- Joe Klotz's baffling nomination notwithstanding.
Tim Robey: What we're basically saying here is that a lot of these movies are screener-friendly. They can be browsed. And I have to say this faintly depresses me as an old-fashioned, packed-audience-on-opening-night, communal experience sort of guy. This is where I think the 3D selling point of Avatar is quite a canny ruse -- a trick to get people going back out to the movies rather than waiting for the inevitably diminished experience on their home TV -- and it's a ruse for which I have some respect. Did Cameron send out screeners for Avatar? Did he need to? To lesser extents, Up and District 9 (and to be fair, even The Blind Side) are films that audiences discovered together in their first few weeks of release, whether in a mall in Kentucky or the Odeon Leicester Square (where The Blind Side has yet to be unveiled, actually -- Sandy or no Sandy, UK distributors are understandably never in much of a hurry to release anything to do with American football. We get confused! Don't ask me what a Tight End is.)
Read the rest at Day Three of the Symposium In which we discuss "the Ten", The Hurt Locker, Where the Wild Things Are, the scores, missing foreign films, screeners vs theatrical and wrap up this three-day party with Meryl Streep vs. Sandra Bullock and Nathaniel's favorite movie game "Re-Casting Couch"
Return and comment. It keeps the conversation going! *
