I Need My Fix Cameron Crowe and Nancy Wilson (of Heart fame) are divorcing. God, it feels like forever since Crowe made a movie, right? Maybe I've just forgotten something. Mr Hipp imagines Inception's dream team. So cute! I love the take on Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Boy Culture Isabella Rossellini finally addresses Madonna's "Sex" 18 years after the fact. To your left is one of my favorite photos from the book. THR a three way discussion on Best Actress and theories as to why Annette Bening isn't really campaigning. The Awl Ed Koch reviews Black Swan. Whaaaa...? If Charlie Parker... awww. Natalie Wood wishes you happy holidays. Time Magazine does a top ten of everything but that link goes to the movies, led by Toy Story 3. Rather annoyingly each entry gets its own page. They want to get 500 page views from you. Boo. Time Magazine also does a top ten performances, led by Noomi Rapace. But... Jacki Weaver & Tilda Swinton make the list. So you may applaud. ABBA try this quiz if you love ABBA. it's so hard. I already forgot my score but I wasn't proud of it. Towleroad a few words on this weekend's new releases. And a few more links.
Finally, the Detroit Film Critics have announced their nominees. I normally don't link to critics awards before they announce winners (so self indulgent) but it is Detroit and I like to say yes to the home state... especially since I never get back there anymore.
Unfortunately they're one of those silly silly silly groups (like the upcoming SAG no doubt *sigh*) which feel the need to nominate The King's Speech's entire cast in their individual categories and then again for Best Ensemble. Seriously Detroit? Calm down. In such a stellar year for ensemble casts there really is no excuse for the ensemble nominations and prizes this film is going to ring up from now until the SAG Awards. No one on god's green earth will ever convince me that each of the three principals in The King's Speech needs two nominations for their trouble. Or that Guy Pearce and Eve Best are so sensational as King Edward and Wallis Simpson that they had to be recognized in this way since they won't get to reprise the roles in Madonna's 2011 feature W.E.(which is at least partially about those characters who will be played by James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough).
"Ensemble" categories make me crazy. Movies consisting of repeated scenes where two people talk to each is not "ensemble work." Detroit's other nominees in this category (The Kids Are All Right, The Fighter, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Winter's Bone) demonstrate that at least some of the Motor City's film journalists are sound of mind.
Because sometimes, taking a wee break from the silver screen, helps you appreciate the movies more.
EW Lady Gaga is insane. Promises "Born This Way" is 'best album of the decade'. So no sophomore slump then, Gaga? YouTube Madonna opening her Hard Candy gym in Mexico. I wish I could work out there. I obviously need some sort of dominatrix to push me if I'm ever going to get in shape. (sigh) AV Club Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark first preview "no one broke their wrists or feet or died." Seriously, why do people keep hiring Julie Taymor and throwing money at her? How long will this Broadway musical have to stay open to even break even? 2018? Band of Thebes best LGBT books of the year? Vulture Hilary Swank developing a reality tv game show? Bizarre.
Or you can just consider this an OPEN THREAD. Lots of movie awards news popping up, yes, but WHAT ELSE are you thinking about right now? I'm watching Pee Wee Herman on Broadway as you read this! I know you are but what am I? *
Movie|Line offers up pre 1970s horror movie suggestions for Halloween /Film James Franco making another poetry film. From behind the camera this time. MCN Halle Berry's Frankie & Alice to get Oscar qualifying release. Have I ever told you how much I hate the one week qualifier rule? "YES. SHUT UP," the readers shout in unison. I'm just sayin' movies should be eligible only if the year of their real release. It's the only way a calendar year 'future history!' eligibility system actually means anything. Serious Film wonders where the critical bar is set for Best Picture nominees in the wake of the cool response to Hereafter. As some of y'all know I don't put much stock in rotten tomatoes scores as Oscar signifiers (partially because all positive or all negative scoring (the dread thumbs!) is an inherently flawed system for reflecting worth and even true opinion. Unless of course everyone is all "A"s and "F"s these days and I realize that's the sad way it's been heading. The Spy in the Sandwich reviews an interesting-sounding film I hadn't yet heard of called Le Fil (The String), a gay film with Antonin Stahly and Claudia Cardinale (!) Hell on Frisco Bay looks at the explosion of film festivals over the last decade. I suspect this is our future since distribution has become so impossible for so many films. My guess: people attending festivals these days are the people that used to frequent their neighborhood arthouses. Paul C wrote a (spoiler-heavy) review of Never Let Me Go that I think is really interesting and perceptive ...though he likes the movie much more than I.
offcinema just cuz Before Glee revives The Rocky Horror Picture Show mania for the next few days, why not a peak at Russell Crowe in fishnets in 1987 playing Eddie & Dr. Scott. Whaaaaa? [hat tip: Cinemablend]
I wish I knew who was playing the other roles. Anyone else famous on that stage?
i09 You have taste receptors in your lungs. Wait... what? Everything I Know a perceptive review of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson which I just saw on Broadway (see "crush of the moment" in the sidebar.) I wish movie biopics had this much irreverent invention. ONTD Madonna to open fitness centers around the world. "Hard Candy"! Ha, I love this idea. Sometimes when celebrities branch out into other fields it's a big "No!" head scratcher. But this one makes perfect narrative sense. Luc Latillipe awesome drawing of Yvonne Craig's Batgirl. There are no other Batgirls if you ask me.
Have your eyes yet feasted on this actual handwritten letter (thx Boy Culture) that Madonna wrote to photographer Steven Meisel? So much pop cultural memory jogging is happening: Herb Ritts, the "Sex" book in idea form, The House of Extravaganza, and --eep! -- everyone's favorite female baseball picture A League of Their Own ("Geena Davis is a barbie doll"... "I hate actresses..." HA!).
That's better than any time machine in taking me right back to 1992. This is why no one should ever throw anything handwritten away ever.
The Big Picture $40 million is the new ceiling for Hollywood drama budgets. It's about time they figured that out. You can make a great one for that amount so why not improve your profitability potential? All Things Fangirl on Batman 3 speculation (it's actually Batman 8 if you ask me, though I know everyone likes to pretend the first 5 Bruce Wayne pics didn't happen) Which female villain should appear. I say none because of Nolan's girl problem. I was just innocently reading along and then my fur went up and I started hissing. You'll know why.
i09 interviews Eliza Dushku about the departed Dollhouse now that it's all on DVD. Will she work with Joss Whedon again? Star East AsiaReign of Assassins character posters. I am so ready to see Michelle Yeoh again. Bring this movie to me. EmpireBlack Swan graphic design /FilmGreen Hornet poster I Need My Fix Adam Sandler in drag? My eyes! Topless Robot They're converting the whole Harry Potter series into 3D. I would someday like 2 pennies to rub together myself but sometimes the insatiable miserable greed in this world is really unsettling.
<--- Meanwhile, in my weekly column for Towleroad I've issued a cinema-altering challenge to James Cameron involving Elizabeth Taylor, bitched about the MPAA and their fear of peen, and shared a performance moment from the dueling trans stars of Portugal's Oscar submission. Why is it that no matter where you go in the world, thedrag playlists remain exactly the same?
I've been bad and I'm quite behind on blogging. Supposed to be working on that "Best Shot" for this evening (La Dolce Vita) but I am a million hours behind and now the Academy has gone and finalized the Oscar Foreign Film list and the Documentary Short Finalist so there's that, too. Updating now so more on something or other in a couple of hours.
In the meantime this is a shot from Madonna's "Bad Girl" video which I've been obsessing over this week due to all The Social Network / David Fincher related posting. And I don't even like the song! Discuss.
I promise I'm logging off of The Fincher Network now but isn't that shot heaven? Smoking kills but damn does it look good in movies/music videos. (See also: the complete works of Wong Kar Wai.) Incidentally the cinematographer on the Bad Girl video was Juan Ruiz Anchía, who hasn't worked with Fincher on any movies but his credits include the Mexican Oscar submission Innocent Voices (2004) as well as the Arthur Miller adaptation Focus (2001).Anyone remember that one with William H Macy & Laura Dern? It sure was visually showy. He also did the wee 'Witherspoon lost in the desert!' movie A Far Off Place (1993) and the 'Demi will cause the apocalpyse!' movie The Seventh Sign plus Glengarry Glen Ross and many more.
Madonna sings. Christopher Walken dances.
In completely unrelated news... My pal Nick did not like Black Swan that much. Oh no! Sadly, not everyone can love everything.
By now you've undoubtedly confirmed for yourself that Brad Pitt is not in David Fincher's The Social Network... Unless you count that "Tyler Durden" Facebook profile on a computer screen in Jesse Eisenberg's room (blink and you'll miss it but I did catch it the second time through).
A Fincher sandwich. Brangelina brung the bread.
If you foolishly expected Brad to pop up for a cameo, you're forgiven on account of your totally understandable great love of David Fincher movies, in which Brad often stars (Se7en, Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). They're friends in real life and only one year apart in age. But for now, no new movie collaborations are on the docket.
<--- Fincher winning an MTV Award for Se7en (1995). It wasn't the first time MTV honored him but more on that later.
Beyond the obvious and uncurious case of Brad Pitt, does the popular director even favor repeat actors? He's not visibly a creature of habit like Woody Allen, previously featured in this new series, but he does reuse actors, like favorite daubs of paint on his auteurial palette. Let's investigate!
The David Fincher Acting Hierarchy (Quantitatively Speaking)
4 Films. There's a three way tie for the top honor, each beating Brad Pitt by one film, albeit with much smaller roles than Brad's movie star status would allow.
Richmond Arquette. Yes, that's the least famous member of the Arquette clan (brother to Alexis, David, Rosanna & Patricia). Fincher always gives him tiny roles but some are key: he makes the dread box delivery at the end of Se7en, makes the first two kills in Zodiac and also appears in Fight Club and Benjamin Button.
Bob Stephenson, who you might reconize as a series regular from TV's Jericho or The Forgotten, is part of the SWAT team in Se7en, a security officer in Fight Club and a killer in both The Game and Zodiac.
Christopher John Fields stretches the furthest back with the director, all the way to Fincher's debut feature Alien³ (1992) where he played "Rains" one of the first victims of the acid-blooded beastie. Poor guy. He also appears in The Game as Detective Boyle, Fight Club's dry cleaning man and he's a copy editor in Zodiac.
3 Films. A man that needs no introduction.
Brad Pitt delivered his two best performances, Se7en (1995) and Fight Club (1999), under the director's guidance. Their third union for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), though a substantial hit, didn't deliver in the same way. It's one of Pitt's duller performances, Oscar nomination be damned, and entire scenes are stolen from him by the make up f/x and the supporting actors.
2 Films. The Fincher filmography is, we hope, just barely starting its second act. He's currently making his 9th feature (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and several people have now appeared in two. It's possible some of the smaller character actors will show up in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo but we won't know they're there till the credits confirm their existence. We'll take the two-fers in semi-random order...
Holt McCallanyis the tattooed prisoner who tries to rape Ripley inAlien³ (clearly he had never seen Alien or Aliens) and he's also one of Tyler Durden's disciples/bruisers in Fight Club.
Jared Leto Remember that Fight Club line "I felt like destroying something beautiful?" used in connection with the destruction of Jared Leto's dreamy face? Leto and Fincher both obviously took that to heart in subsequent projects, too like Panic Room. (What a strange career Leto has had since the teen heartthrob days.) And think of the visual beating Brad Pitt takes in every Fincher film! Fincher definitely wants to destroy his beauty.
Elias Koteas is one of dozens of cops caught up in the Zodiac caseand he's also in Button.
Rooney Mara is onscreen now in The Social Network and so good in it, too. Like "Mark Zuckerberg" we'll be refreshing our screens until she returns in Fincher's version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Paul Schulze, is probably best known as Nurse Jackie's pharmacist / lover. He appears in both Panic Room and Zodiac (with hair!)
Charles S Dutton is the prison colony's spiritual leader inAlien³ and a cop in Se7en
Andrew Kevin Walker is the screenwriter of Se7en but he also acts in the film (he plays "Sloth" ... shudder one of the dead bodies). He's also in Panic Room as "Sleepy Neighbor". Hee.
Michael Massee who'd you recognize as a regular on one season of television's 24 or FlashForward appears in The Game as an EMT and in the massage parlor in Se7en. I think he's also in Madonna's "Bad Girl" video, directed by Fincher but I'm not positive on this. (But that'd make him a 2+)
John Getz is Zuckerberg's lawyer in The Social Network andTempleton Peck in Zodiac. Poor man is always shot sitting behind a desk. Does he have legs?
John Casini is one of the cops in Se7en and a "man in airport" in The Game.
1(+) Film
James Rebhorn appears in The Game but he's also in the Madonna video "Bad Girl". Just think. If his date with Madonna had gone well, maybe she wouldn't have gone home with that serial killer!? Fincher sure loves the serial killer trope. And "Bad Girl" sure is an interesting piece in understanding David Fincher; the "angel of death" is visualized as a film director.
Trevor Wright appears in The Social Network but when he was a little kid he appeared in the Fincher directed Paula Abdul video "Forever Your Girl".
1 Film. Hundreds of people share this distinction but the two actresses we'd really like to see David Fincher reteam with are Helena Bonham-Carter who was so against-type revelatory in Fight Club and Nicole Kidman who was supposed to get locked up in that Panic Room but ended up just being a disembodied voice on a phone in the same film.
To come full circle from his music video days, wouldn't it be fun to see three actors Fincher used there in one of his feature films? Why not cast Christopher Walken (Madonna's "Bad Girl"), Elijah Wood (Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" when he was only 8!) or the egregiously underused Lesley Ann Warren (Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun") in a future movie?
Finally... We must dedicate this list to the woman who introduced us to one of our favorite directors. David Fincher famously built his visual rep on a series of gargantuan Madonna music videos (Fincher won an MTV Video Award for "Express Yourself" though the big M did not) before escaping to feature films.
Most people went to see Alien³ because it was the third in a franchise. I went to see it because I wanted to see if the man behind the frankly incredible images in Express Yourself, Oh Father,Vogue and Bad Girl had a feature career in him. He clearly did though most critics and audiences were not impressed. That movie needs a critical reevaluation because it was plain as day even then that he was already a cinematic wizard. My suspicion is that the shockingly nasty and merciless tone threw people off and he lost them in the opening shots by killing off Newt. It was always going to be roughly received, no matter how well made, coming after James Cameron's untoppable Aliens (only among the greatest action films ever made) but the tonal shift further chilled that inevitably cool response.
The second woman we reluctantly must dedicate this to is Paula Abdul since she's also a 4 time Fincher graduate. His videos for her aren't as good but he didn't have as much to work with, you know?
This series is about director's actor preferences but we'd like to note that Fincher, like most great auteurs reuses behind the scenes personell as well. Frequent collaborators include composer Howard Shore (3 films), editors James Haygood (3 films) and Angus Wall (4 films), cinematographer Jeff Cronenwerth (4 films), and production designer Donald Graham Burt (the past 4 films).
If you enjoyed this article, pass it on to your [ahem] Social Networks. Wink! Nudge! * *
Just Jared more pics from the set of Captain America. Chris Evans with prosthetic feet. I always did wonder how they filmed barefoot chase scenes. The Evening Class a defense of Bruce LaBruce's porno/horror hybrid LA Zombie. Freaking Awesome ...speaking of zombies, this poster is created from zombie movie titles. Sick. The Playlist Stanley Tucci shopping a sports biopic to direct and star in? At least it's not a traditional sports star biopic. Vulture Mark Ruffalo will actually be playing the Hulk in his monster 3D form (i.e. motion capture) "I hope I don't bulge in anyone's face."
In Contention "I'm just here for the movies" I'm glad I have Guy Lodge with me on this. While it's true that some Oscar pundits care about the race first, with the cinema being but a happy-accident side dish, that's not true of all of us. Boy Culture Remember when I got to meet Michelle Pfeiffer and Julianne Moore? Good times. Matthew Rettemund, who wrote my favorite book on the icon (Encyclopedia Madonna), finally got to meet her. Here's his story - with video! LA Times Lindsay Lohan wins more jail drama. I am going to valiantly try to never mention her again on the blog. I'm not sure why I'm doing so now. It'll be hard for me but I feel embarrassed, actually, that I've been rooting for her and intermittently defending her talent for 12 years. What so many millions of people would do with the breaks, beauty and talent she was gifted. LA Rag Mag Adam Levine wants you to know that Jake Gyllenhaal is not gay. Noh Way in the wake of the release of Easy A, looks at Hester Prynne throughout movie history
Finally, here's the first bit of the NYFF press conference after our screening of The Social Network yesterday.
I love this bit from Aarron Sorkin...
I didn't think it was a movie about Facebook. I thought it was a movie that had themes as old as storytelling itself: friendship and loyalty, class, jealousy, power -- these things that Aeschylus would write about or Shakespeare would write about or Paddy Chayefsky would write about. Luckily none of those people were available so I got to write about it.
I don't know if I quite buy into the "it'll win Best Picture!" mania that's spreading (it's only September 25th, after all. We don't even know how it will fare with the public) but I 100% believe that Sorkin has a very strong shot at taking home whichever Screenplay category he ends up in.
Ten years ago today, Madonna's Music (2000), one of her very best records, dropped into record stores. Director Guy Ritchie, to your left, was then her new man. He was advertising -- the record I mean! See the "Music" logo on his tanktop? Ever the selfless altruist, Madonna wore a black t-shirt promoting his project, Snatch (2000) which had opened the month before in the UK and was soon going to the US. It would become his biggest hit. Until Sherlock Holmes (2009) that is.
But back to 2000. Ah, the heady days of early romance. She had given birth to Rocco, her only biological child with Guy, the month before. They were married by December.
Madonna was of course, no stranger to loving alpha male movie men since actor/directors Sean Penn and Warren Beatty preceded Guy. Famously, she's now entered their realm. Paparazzi are basically snapping Madonna daily now while she films W.E. (2011) starring Abbie Cornish (see previous post). There must be a lot of outdoor shots. I suspect she wanted to do this much earlier than her first feature Filth & Wisdom (2008) -- I remember her discussing it back in the early 90s when she was still trying to become a film star and mentioned how much she loved Sally Potter's Orlando! It's curious that she didn't start with her own music videos. That career path has no stigma anymore given how many hipster cinematic giants have transferred over from music videos: David Fincher, Mark Romanek, Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze etcetera...
The videos (and movie connections) in order of release.
Music
Is you Madonna? You babylons look less big than they do on the telly but I still definitely would.
With this video, directed by Ray of Light man Jonas Åkerlund, Madge introduced Americans to Sacha Baron Cohen before HBO's Da Ali G Show and Borat and Brüno.
The actress Debi Mazar makes her fifth Madonna video appearance. They've been friends since they were both hitting dance clubs in the early 80s (before the Fame hit). To your left is a private pic of them from Fire Island which Debi showed Wendy Williams. It's around the Dick Tracy time period since they were flying there in a private plan with Warren Beatty. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, you know.
Don't Tell Me
This one comes from frequently collaborator Jean-Baptiste Mondino. It was a huge success worldwide and parodied by Kirsten Dunst and Jimmy Fallon at the MTV Movie Awards. The costumes are by DSquared and Oscar nominee Arianne Phillips. Phillips is also a frequent Madonna collaborator and is working on W.E.. There was a fascinating interview with her in the New York Times when she was promoting A Single Man (2009) that you should read if you haven't. Phillips has only been nominated for one Oscar (Walk the Line) but her filmography includes costuming gems like The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, 3:10 to Yuma, Tank Girl and The Crow. Oscar's costuming branch doesn't regularly have an eye for iconic contemporary or genre wear, preferring superbly executed period pieces for the bulk of their nominations and especially their wins.
What It Feels Like For a Girl
The third and last official single was directed by Guy Ritchie and banned on MTV for violence. Not that banning on MTV meant anything by this time since they weren't really showing videos. But the song largely tanked, ending the singles release from Music.
The spoken word portion is by singer/actress Charlotte Gainsbourg from this scene in the film The Cement Garden (1993). As you know I thought she was pretty fantastic as the Bob Dylan-proxy's abandoned wife in I'm Not There's (2007). Other people went nuts for her recent turn in Antichrist.
American Pie
This is not an official song from Music but is on some of the CDs depending on the country. It's from the soundtrack to The Next Best Thing (2000) which is why you get then Madonna BFF Rupert Everett himself -- Sean Penn introduced them when Penn had just started dating her -- on back-up vocals and dancing with Madonna toward the tail end. They were very tight and though Rupert claimed in a revealing and typically prickly interview (he can be such a handful) that they're friends again, most sources say they she did not react well at all -- in a permanent way -- to his book in which he claimed that she dropped gay friends due to Guy Ritchie's homophobia.
I've only ever read Rupert's first book Hello Darling Are You Working? Has anyone read the one that caused the rift? If you own Music are you about to put it in for a 10th anniversary spin? [tangent: I'll use it today for workout soundtrack. I've finally gotten back to the gym. But I can't be proud of it until it becomes an actual habit rather than a once a quarter "maybe this time" delusion.]
Speaking of the now... Rupert Everett will be back in cinema's next month opposite Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt in Wild Target. But wouldn't his brutal Brit wit be a perfect fit for the Sherlock Holmes franchise in some capacity? Ah well, something tells me Guy Ritchie won't be casting him any time soon. The untitled sequel starts shooting next month (?) with Noomi Rapace and Daniel Day-Lewis joining RDJ & Jude. The Guy Ritchie film will be opening for Christmas 2011. No word yet on when his ex-wife's movie will arrive.
Put the tunes in your headphones for an anniversary spin.
The New York Film Festival starts officially on September 24th. Critics screenings have already begun but so far I've been in absentia. I have my reasons though the selection committee and certain cinephiles would surely scoff at them so they will go unnamed. This morning I picked up my credentials but opted to skip Carlos the Olivier Assayas film about Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramirez Sanchez or "The Jackal" as he's infamously known in history and inthemovies. I love Assayas (Summer Hours + demonlover = movie heaven plus rare artistic range!) but I can't do 5½ hour movies. I just can't!
That's one of the reasons people will scoff (oops. so much for unnamed). I've heard it's terrific but I know my limits. My back and ass know them, too. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see it in its piecemeal French miniseries form at some point. I love serialized drama as much as anyone but for me that's a television-specific experience and it should stay where it belongs.
While exiting the Walter Reade I spotted a "coming soon" poster for Desperately Seeking Susan.
It's not every day you see a "coming soon" poster for a movie that's 25 years old starring your favorite celebrity of all time. Director Susan Seidelman will speaking to the crowd at the screening (Sept 23rd -- get your tickets) and Rosanna Arquette and Aidan Quinn will also attend. If they blasted "Into the Groove" through the speakers and Madonna made a surprise appearance in her original costume I would die on the spot with a stupid grin on my face. What a way to go.
Susan is not part of the official festival (shame) though the fest usually does have a few retros. See, NYFF isn't exactly known for comedy if you know what I mean. They lean hard on Cannes lineups but only the dour subtitled selections. If NYFF goes "mainstream" it's usually for something gloomy, like say dead children a la Clint Eastwood's Changeling but not dead children a la Rachel Getting Married because that movie was too warm and humane! I'm partially joking since I love the NYFF but that 2008 selection committee decision will haunt me forever. They crazy. I shan't ever forgive them.
My point is this: in one particular NYFF year I sat through three films in a row from multiple countries starring voyeuristic barely verbal loners who stalked / killed women. I can't even talk about it! I just can't.
For 2010, I'm most excited for the following seven in roughly this order:
Another Year -because it's a Mike Leigh film. That's all I need.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives -because it won the Palme D'Or and I found Apichatpong Weerathesakul's Tropical Malady so worthwhile in its enigmas.
Meek's Cutoff-because Michelle Williams and Kelly Reichardt's last collaboration Wendy & Lucy was so moving.I'm sometimes allergic to westerns, though, so we shall see.
Poetry -because I still think about Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine frequently and staying power is not properly rewarded at the cinema.
I'll see other pictures too but those have made me the most curious.
And because Jonathan Glazer's Birth (2004) seems to be coming up frequently in discussions round here lately, you should probably know (should you be in NYC) that one of the special events this year is an evening with film scholar David Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film) in which he will screen and discuss this wonderful and misunderstood picture. *
Salon on the "Magical Negro," the offensive movie cliche that just won't die. pullquote the Cinetrix appreciates the mise-en-scene of a unique triple feature: Pee Wee's Big Adventure, In the Mood for Love and Metropolis. Three great disparate movies. If I lived in Boston I would surely love the Brattle. IMDB Penélope Cruz' rep makes it official: She's pregnant. The world will get the genetically blessed spawn of Cruz-Bardem in January or Februaryish. Sina Tony Leung Chiu-Wai snapped leaving a noodleshop. Wait, isn't Maggie Cheung supposed to be the one fetching those? I can't believe he's nearing 50.
Critical Condition "the mysterious case of the disappearing 80s movies". This is a good read but I disagree with the resolution. I don't actually think modern technology will prevent films from becoming lost. I think the constant succession of new technologies will only acerbate the problem. Notice how many thousands and thousands of films that were available on VHS are not on DVD and now Blu-Ray is taking over. Nicks Flick Picks has a thoughtful reaction to the Venice "scandal" and its weird jury presumptions. Kenneth in the (212) Madonna: "Most Likely To Direct". Hee. Vanity Fair Natalie Portman on her role in Black Swan ticklepickleme has 10 thoughts on those Rabbit Hole clips we were just watching. Empire James Cameron's True Lies may become a tv series. Can Eliza Dushku reprise her role please? Hollywood Reporter Toronto's "It Girl" is Brit actress Andrea Riseborough who stars in three films.
Finally, here's Julianne Moore politicking. Good on her.
It was 25 years ago today that Madonna and Sean Penn were married in Malibu. It was Madonna's birthday (she was turning 27). Sean's birthday was the following day (he was turning 25). She was the new queen of pop ("Dress You Up", the final hit single from Like a Virgin was hitting the charts) and he was the critics darling of young actors, consistently winning praise for both his comedy work (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) and drama (The Falcon and the Snowman)... Oscar voters, often slow on the draw, waited another 10 years to nominate him.
Paparazzi helicopters descending on their wedding like an invading army. The following year their movie collaboration Shanghai Surprise was released. Critics swarmed like an angry hive. Whenever paparazzi bugged Madonna, Sean raged like a...
Well you get the point. What a ruckus they always caused.
Their marriage didn't last but their solo fame sure did. Sean Penn won his second Oscar just 18 months ago and Madonna is, well, Madonna. They'll still be talking about her in the 2085. She's currently in London filming W.E. (see previous post).
Madonna arrives at her 52nd birthday party a couple of days ago
Each decade gets a few defining celebrity pairs, don't you think? Who would you say the definitive couples are now? Obviously Brad & Angie, but who else. Which celebrity couple takes up too much of your mental real estate? *
Happy 50th birthday to Everyone's Favorite Spaniard™*Antonio Banderas.
He was already celebrating the big day yesterday in the port of Marbella with Melanie Griffith, the Mrs. Banderas. okay okay it was her birthday yesterday but we're not really fans [cough to put it mildly]. What is it with celebrities born a day apart getting married? Madonna & Sean did that, too!
Antonio has been fading from the limelight this past decade which is kind of a shame because he would have made a much better "Guido Contini" than Daniel Day-Lewis in Nine (2009) so why didn't he get the chance to help make it work onscreen (and make no mistake, he would have helped. You need a certain type in that role. DDL is many great things but is a charming cad really one of them?) But if you've been missing him, fear not. A mini-'Tonio revival is coming with the Broadway revival of Zorba the Greek on its way and (finally!) a reunion with the man who brought him to international fame, director Pedro Almodóvar for the movie called La Piel que Habito (The Skin I Live In) which supposedly begins shooting this month.
The Film Experience had planned a rather huge 50th celebration today in Antonio's honor, and figured to sneak in a little contemporary Angelina Jolie love via a trip back to their erotic romp Original Sin (2001) and maybe a collection of favorite photos and that sort of thing. Truth: I've never seen that erotic thriller. And why the hell not given that both of those movie stars know a thing or five-hundred about working their sexual mojo for the benefit of the camera. But plans... they do get away from you.
But since it's Tuesday, and I've been neglecting the top tens...
Ten Favorite Banderas Roles
10"Miguel" in Philadelphia (1993) I don't really care for the movie, Jonathan Demme's bizarrely toothless and middlebrow follow up to the stellar Silence of the Lambs, but what a boyfriend Banderas made. The movie's authenticity was always in question because it was readily apparent that Tom Hanks's lawyer had no desire to ever touch his Spanish hunk. Imagine having Miguel to yourself and never manhandling him? That's just... Well, it's actually against the law.
09TBA: I'm reserving this spot for a second viewing of Matador, the only Almodóvar I've actively disliked. Maybe I missed something? And I've never seen Spy Kids. It's true. Is he fun in that?
08"Zorro" in The Mask of Zorro (1998) It's as if Banderas' ascendance forced Hollywood to remake it. He existed therefore the movie had to.
07"Guido Contini" in Nine (Broadway revival) I've written about Ninetoo much. I have not another word in me. From now on, I shall only hum the theme song.
06"Puss in Boots" Shrek 2(2004) He's the one redeeming factor of this soulless behemoth franchise. Just hilarious and relentlessly charming. Oh, those eyes!!! Who can resist? I'm talking about the Puss but I totally get it if you were thinking about Tonio's brown orbs.
05"El Mariarchi" in Desperado (1995) <--- Cool guys don't look at explosions.
04"Antonio Benítez" in Law of Desire(1987) Benítez was a dangerously unstable, often naked, highly annoying young man but Antonio played him superbly. More importantly, this film was an early but substantial example of the difference between rising European actors and rising American fame-seekers. In the former case they generally understand that it's about serving the auteur, the character and the movie, not about working on your "image."
---> The truth telling image to your right is pilfered from this all time classic blogpost from Adam, a friend of The Film Experience.
Law of Desire is actually my favorite Almodóvar movie for personal nostalgia reasons. It's the second one I saw -- after the film that actually followed it Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown -- but the first I sought out because of the man behind the curtain. I was not disappointed.
03 "Ché" in Evita(1996) 02"Antonio Banderas" in Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) Because this double feature captures the memorable Madonna thru-line of his international stardom so superbly. They made such a beautiful imaginary couple. At least Madonna thought so.
"I've been wanting to meet Antonio for years. I finally get to meet him and he's married. That's one of life's little fuck-overs." ____-Madonna aloud while sitting next to Antonio.
"I said 'Oh, this is such a disaster. He's married.' He goes 'Oh, in Spain it doesn't matter.' ...Is that man beautiful or what? There's got to be something wrong with him. He probably has a really small penis or something. OhGod.There hasto be something wrong with him because nobody is that perfect." ____-Madonna to Nikki in the bathroom of Almodóvar's party
01"Ricky" in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) Almodóvar movies are often blessed with sexual heat (Last year's Broken Embraces is a recent example of the director's gift in this arena)... but there's virtually nothing in the Almodóvar collection that's hornier or hotter than Banderas and his prisoner, the sadly undervalued Victoria Abril, attempting to climax simultaneously in this NC-17 rated stockholm syndrome romance. Even better is the shockingly moving fully clothed moment later in the movie when... no, I shan't spoil the movie. See it.
This post is free. The price you pray for reading is a word or four about Antonio in the comments.Go!
*circa 1990s. Later Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz would war over the designation. They finally called it a draw and married.
I've always wondered if Madonna shouts "Vogue!" instead of "action" when she's directing.
And you can't blame me! <--This picture of hers, as she began shooting W.E last week in London, totally screams "strike a pose" huh? We have discussed this movie before but in case you need a quick pick up, the film centers on the affair between American socialite Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII. Yet instead of going for a straightforward biopic thing, the Queen went for a Julie and Julia twist in which a modern woman (played by Abbie Cornish) looks for inspiration in the royal scandal to help her decide between two men in her life (one of them being the constantly interesting Oscar Isaac).
The biggest change in the movie was the news that Vera Farmiga, who was set to play Wallis, dropped out due to her pregnancy. But never one to wait for anyone (time goes by so slowly for those who wait...) Madge went ahead and cast a practically unknown actress by the name of Andrea Riseborough.
After thinking how weird this casting was, I actually took a moment to look Andrea up and lo and behold,
Andrea and Wallis
At least we have the looks alright! Andrea has won a BAFTA TV award, two Ian Charleson awards and has appeared in small parts in movies like Happy-Go-Lucky and Venus (where she played a character merely listed as "actress") this could be her big movie break. She will also appear in the film adaptation of Never Let Me Go later this year.
Whether you like her or not, it can't be said that Madonna doesn't have drive. The film will feature costumes by John Galliano, a screenplay by Alek Keshishian who directed Truth or Dare (Madge's best film)and who obviously has a keen eye for exploring the most intimate moments in a celebrity's life. If anything in W.E. slightly recalls the magic between Madge and Warren Beatty for example, we're going to be onto something here...
Dear UK readers, should we be excited about Andrea in this movie? Is she a worthy replacement for Farmiga? Is anyone else actually excited about this movie? Or am I alone in this?
Catfish, a hot ticket documentary from Sundance is coming to theaters near you. It's totally worth seeing but please avoid all articles and trailers. Just know that it's about an online relationship. Just trust me on this one. Totally worth seeing (even if you hate it) for the conversations it'll spark afterwards.
Black Swan will open in early December, presumably following The Wrestler's release pattern. I'm not sure this is a good idea since it seems like a harder sell for awardage since it's genre tinged AND about young beauties. Oscar likes old broken down piece of meat man drama way more. But I must lower my expectations. I'm unreasonably excited and there's not even a trailer yet.
Link Time I Need My Fix Emily Blunt in Elle. Did y'all hear Meryl Streep sang ABBA at Blunt's wedding? Blunt leads a charmed life, okay. Coming SoonThe Social Network and The Tempest will open and close NYFF, respectively. But what's the centerpiece? The Disney Blog a live action Mulan with Zhang Ziyi. Well, Ziyi could really use a comeback hit. Movies Kick Ass weighs in on the new posters for Tangled and Never Let Me Go. /Film Liam Neeson on longer attached to Steven Spielberg's Lincoln biopic. Will it ever be made? Fader remembers the Madonna-adjacent style of Tony Ward. Definitely Madonna's best trophy boy. That Obscure Object Johnny Depp by Herb Ritts? Wow, this takes me back.
Fashion & Style considers Mad Men and and the vicarious thrills and feelings of superiority watching its messy lives. But are we living? Great piece. Edward Copeland on Film I haven't read this 75th anniversary article on Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps yet, but I hope to write about the movie myself tonight, if time allows. Watching it on Netflix today. Alt Film Guide Suso Cecchi D'Amico, the female Italian screenwriter that I'd forgotten on my list of Oldest Living Oscar Nominees last month, died yesterday in Rome. She leaves behind many classic films including The Bicycle Thief and The Leopard.
Today's Must Read The Awl "Fingered by Fosse" a conversation about jazz hands, not spirit fingers. The clip from All That Jazz makes me sad because we'll never see dancing like Ann Reinking's again at the cinema. No directors or studios care about training anymore. And Ann is a marvel. That takes years to master.
Finally, here's Jude Law for Dior Homme (directed by Guy Ritchie)
Jude Law is nasty. We've always liked him that way. Ever since Wilde.
