Film Experience Blog

A note for  impatient readers: My top ten list is coming (I'm aiming for January 1st / 2nd) but first there's a couple year in reviews things and an interview with Kirsten Dunst. The new site will be up soon, too. Hopefully everything will be running smoothly within the next week.

Vulture Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu speaks out. Good read. I especially liked the Woody Allen bits.
/Film Remember when Buried won that surprise NBR Screenplay award. That's not the end of the film's Oscar campaign story...
Wired Patton Oswalt (The United States of Tara) asks for the death/rebirth of geek culture by ETEWAF (Everything That Ever Was... Available Forever). Really interesting piece, especially if you're feeling burnt out by the internet's constant regurgitation of past things and repurposing of newish things.
Playbill has a list of a ton of people's favorite theater moments of the year. I wish I could still afford theater. [sniffle]
Towleroad my weekly article with a teensy bit on the "depressing" double of Rabbit Hole and Blue Valentine.
Cinema Blend Casper the Friendly Ghost is coming back to the movies. In Related News: Hollywood isn't even trying anymore. True story: I saw the Christina Ricci Casper (1995) at the drive-in and my best friend cried and we all made fun of him for weeks afterwards.

Three random questions:

1. Do you think Anne Hathaway is pissed that her Oscar co-host gets the EW cover but Natalie Portman gets what would then, symmetrically speaking, be hers? 
2. Will there be a single day in 2011 where we aren't staring at Natalie Portman's mug?
3. Was there a day in 2010 when we didn't see James Francos?

The Awl Call this next year twenty-eleven, please not "two thousand eleven". A compelling funny argument.

Movie|Line celebrates a year of "The Verge," their great up-and-coming actor series.
Cinema Blend goosing the sales of True Grit (the novel)
Today One of the Fantastic Four will die in the comic's #587th issue. Does anyone still believe in these marketing ploys? I'm sure they'll come back to life within 3 years. That's how comics do.
MUBI The great Michel Piccoli is 85 today. Has anyone seen La Belle Noiseuse (1991)? That's such a good one.
CineEuropa international actor Armin Mueller-Stahl will receive a lifetime achievement award at Berlinale this year.
The Guardian talks to Andrew Garfield about Spider-Man (with audio)
Blog Stage an informative and weird animated bit describing what's going on with Spider Man's Broadway disaster.
Towleroad Mickey Rourke to pay gay rugby legend Gareth Thomas in a sports bio. We've had a lot of sports bios at the movies but you can't say we've had a lot of rugby films, gay or otherwise.
Scott Feinberg, fine Oscar pundit, delivers his top ten.

Finally, the New York Times has a totally bizarre article called "Hollywood Moves Away from Middlebrow Movies" which is about the new quality edict in Hollywood. I never understand these articles which seem to find all sorts of bizarre trends that the box office data doesn't actually support like "originality sells!" Er, no... I wish! I knew the article was in trouble when it says that Hollywood is going for quality and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is referred to as "arty" example of directorial artistry. Let me get this straight, in an article praising studio interest in Quality Original Films one of the prime examples is a messily 3D converted 2D film of a story that's been adapted literally dozens of times for the movies back to the days of silent film?


I swear to the cinematic gods that that one 2010 junkpile is going to be the death of me. It will not go away. I'll even have to be dealing with it in 2011 for the Oscars. Nooooooooooooooooo
*

year in review part 3 of several

With 2010 about to wrap, let's do a top ten list albeit a very specific one. Let's make like Barbara Walters and choose The Most Fascinating (Fictional, LGBT) People. Barbara obviously uses a different criteria than "fascinating" in her annual roundup. Hers seems closer to "constantly in the news /has overworked publicist"  and our choices are also debatable. The ranking is somewhat arbitrary. It's a glorified excuse to talk about people, in this case the LGBT characters who were on movie screens in 2010. So let's get to it.

The Invisible Man
This following list is dedicated to the openly gay "Chris Hughes" in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, portrayed by Patrick Mapel (pictured left with Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in the movie). Because this excellent movie chooses to focus so tightly on its intellectual property lawsuits, fraternity "punch" lust, and that central squabbling sextet of Ivy League straight boys (Zuckerberg, Saverin, Narendra, Parker, and "the Winklevii"), it apparently didn't have much room for diversity; the women and the gays involved in the Facebook story don't get much attention.

Read the list of the year's best gay characters at my weekly column @ Towleroad featuring The Kids Are All Right, I Love You Phillip Morris, La Mission and more.

*

Towleroad Far From Heaven being adapted into a stage musical. I've been burned on this sort of thing too many times but at least it's by the composer of Grey Gardens and that had a few lovely tunes.


NYT the latest injury from the set of the Spider Man musical on Broadway. Wednesday matinee cancelled. I am 100% certain that someone will one day write a bestseller about the behind-the-scenes of this disaster prone production
Cinema Blend Peter Weir not interested in a sequel to Master & Commander. Awww. Maybe they should just adapt it for a stage musical instead. Kidding.

photo src

Movie|Line has a jolly interview with Mike Leigh on the eve of the release of Another Year. I love this bit on why he'd never make a superhero film (no, really. the question was posed to him in a way that's not as crass as it sounds)

I use film to make a personal kind of film in a very specific, particular way. And there is no more reason for me to do what I think you're suggesting than there would for me to give up being a film director an become the pilot of a jumbo jet flying across the Atlantic. Or a brain surgeon or, indeed, a coal miner.

I love thinking of Mike Leigh as coal miner. Tee hee. Come to think of it. He would make a GREAT director for a coal mining movie or a... wait a minute. I have it. Topsy-Turvy demonstrated that Leigh can sell a musical number. So... Mike Leigh, directing the acclaimed musical Floyd Collins about that explorer trapped in a cave!

Floyd Collins is so pretty. Let's listen to a couple of its songs.




My brain does like to wander. Obviously needed a break from thinking / writing about Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar...

Moving On...
Pop Eater have you heard this crazy story about 80s star Marilu Henner? Seems she has something called "superior autobiographical memory" - fascinating story really and totally unrelated: I've always thought Marilu was a hilarious celebrity.
Go Fug Yourself Fug or Fab Style: Mila Kunis
In Contention Jafar Panahi banned from making films. So terrible. As Guy says, this puts the silly annual Oscar bitching into perspective.
AV Club Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg offered $1 million to box each other for charity cuz they both starred in boxing picture, see? This story cracks me up on so many levels. Like, no movie stars would risk their billion dollar faces for charity. The only risk movie stars take with their moneymakers is plastic surgery.

Tired of critics awards yet? You can say so if you are. The London Critics Circle have offered up nominations. Sadly, The King's Speech -- the only British film that doesn't need any Oscar boost -- is the only one they're willing to back for crossover attention; it shows up on both their "Film of the Year and "British Film of the Year" lists and doubles up on Helena Bonham-Carter and Colin Firth in two acting categories, too. (sigh) Whew... I thought Colin Firth was in danger of losing his Oscar momentum there for a second. Thank god, they threw their weight behind him.

Awards Daily "Women Unhinged" fun piece on all the bat-shit crazy lady characters fighting for Oscar recognition. We're glad to see Lesley Manville (Another Year) getting some attention in her week of snubs.
Movies Kick Ass sees and loves Paprika Steen in Applaus. What a performance that is.
Disney Blog I hadn't heard of this but apparently there's a union protest against Toy Story 3 outside of Academy screenings. Ruh-roh.
I Need My Fix whoa mamma. Check out this slit in Gwynnie's Country Strong dress.

DListed is thrilled that Tom Cruise still has hard nips. Um... okay. You know what I think is the real disturbing fountain of youth magic? That head of hair. Cruise is bothersome in so many ways but that hair? Still perfect.
Towleroad Kevin Spacey still refusing to come out, "never" will. Makes unconvincing case that asking him to do so is equivalent to bullying gay teens. Even threatens to record an "it gets better" video. (Please don't. Kinda too ironic like). Ah well, at least we have better braver less selfish celebrities emerging each year to change the world.
Sociological Images Have you been wondering what Geena Davis' organization "Institution on Gender in Media" has been up to?  Here are some charts about gender imbalances in family movies.

Just Him and His Shadow

GQ Cover boy Ryan Gosling dresses like a movie star. I love this bit on why he got a regular ol' job briefly after The Notebook

" 'I'd never had a real job,' he says. The problem with Hollywood, he goes on, is that nobody works. 'They have meals. They go to Pilates. But it's not enough. So they do drugs. If everybody had a pile of rocks in their backyard and spent every day moving them from one side of the yard to the other, it would be a much happier place.' "

I always thought this was a problem. I always find myself wondering how some famous actors who rarely work, kill time. You know they're not working at delis.

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.

Jim Carrey adds a little swish to his familiar physical dexterity as con-man Steven Russell in I Love You Phillip Morris. His rubber face sad-comic mask falls hard for mild-mannered Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor), while both are in prison. Their affair prompts much elaborate scheming from Steven about how to bust them out.

The film's strange and gleefully offensive comic tone comes courtesy of the Bad Santa screenwriters but this time they serve it up with a fey twist. The politically incorrect gay humor is incongruously combined with genuine sincerity and even sweetness. You don't cast the dependably adorable McGregor if you're not willing to spike your booze with a little punch...

Read the rest at my weekly column @ Towleroad
(There's a couple more notes on Black Swan, too.)
*

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Care for some turkey? Cher, XTina and gay filmmaker Steve Antin shall provide a succulent bird. If you’ve been looking forward to the new musical BURLESQUE, relax. I come not to disparage the movie, but to (mostly) praise it. Consider this a corrective protest. It will prove too easy a target for critics and haters, who often seem to despise girlie or flashy movies before they’ve even seen them, but it’s not truly a turkey. It’s more like a (hot) pink flamingo; the plumage is so colorful, you forget that it looks like it should fall over.



The basic plot of Burlesque is so typical as to be personality free: small town dreamer arrives in big city to make it big. Does. The End. But let’s backtrack. Christina Aguilera, referred to as “Ali” since she’s acting or “Iowa” since she’s just off the bus, chances upon the club “Burlesque” run by Cher. For some reason everyone in the movie keeps calling Cher “Tess" but even Cher knows she’s just playing Cher. Tess even gets an 11th hour power ballad "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me Yet" to remind you that she's Cher....

Read the full review @ Towleroad.

Journalistic Skepticism Oooh, it's a must read listen. Luke has collected the film scores this year. Which is your favorite and who do you think is winning the Oscar for Best Score?
Cinema Blend smart post about confusingly similar 2011 romantic comedies Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached. One twin thing that isn't mentioned: Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman, the female leads from the respective movies are sexually entanged together in Black Swan.
Towleroad A bit about Spielberg's Lincoln. Plus, my continued Harry Potter agnosticism . I don't even wanna see this one. Five hours to tell that book? And I've heard that they do spend lots of time moping in that tent. Argh. I don't even dislike the movies really (except the first two) but 9 years is more than enough for one series. Wrap that damn thing up already!
Austin Translation has some fun advice for future Disneyland travellers.
I.Z. Reloaded amazing Star Wars inspired art.
Vulture looks at the possibilities in a post Harry Potter world for Daniel Radcliffe.

Finally, have you read this great New York Times Cher profile piece? I particularly loved this bit about her surreal fame-filled life.

It’s an odd existence, Cher’s. When she recounted a late-night gabfest with two girlfriends in the bedroom of her Malibu manse not long ago, the gabbers in question were Joan Rivers and Kathy Griffin. When she flashed back to a favorite exercise class in Beverly Hills decades ago, the fellow crunchers and squatters were Raquel Welch, Ali MacGraw and, to a more limited and grudging extent, Barbra Streisand, who “would go over, do two little things, and then walk around and talk,” Cher said.

She refers to most of these people by first name or nickname only, figuring you can fill in the blanks. Nicky is Nicolas Cage, Kurty is Kurt Russell, Mich is Michelle Pfeiffer and Nony is Winona Ryder, who starred with Cher in “Mermaids” in 1990 but suffered a career setback after a subsequent arrest for shoplifting.

“It’s such a drag that some crimes are cool and some crimes are uncool,” Cher said.

Ha. You know why that "snap out of it" scene in Moonstruck is so infinitely funny/resonant? Because loving Cher (in ridiculous proportions to how much you probably should love Cher) comes so naturally; you have to be slapped to break her spell!

True story: Last night I was supposed to meet The Boyfriend for an event and I got confused about where we were meeting. I ended up at that big wall-painting of Burlesque I shared last week (which wasn't where I was supposed to be). A minute later he showed up just as I was ringing him.


"How'd you know where I was?" I ask.
"I knew you'd gravitate towards Cher."
*

Over at Towleroad, I've done a brief review of 127 Hours.  I enjoyed a lot even if I don't think it's the masterpiece many are claiming. I also talk about the new dvd set Cher: The Film Collection. More on that collection later here at the blog. (I can't wait to watch these movies again.)


This is an actual cel phone snapshot from Soho here in NYC. They painted the Burlesque poster on a brick wall.
*

Behold: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers (aka Captain America), post-serum obviously.

Captain America: The First Avenger

In all seriousness now, I have to ask: How they gonna make him look scrawny and unfit before he drinks the drink that transforms him into a super soldier?  If you would like to reread this post for several minutes  (no one will blame you) here's a little musical accompaniment.




 Read my weekly column @ Towleroad...
for a little more Chris Evans, some Cary Elwes, Ryan Kwanten, and the wonderful Stephen Merritt of Magnetic Fields fame.
*
Captain America: The First Avenger

Clint Eastwood, now 80 years old, has never been more regular. Somewhere between the months of October and December each year, comes a new Eastwood picture for your consideration... or "For Your Consideration" if you're a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In some years, like 2006 (Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima) or 2008 (Changeling and Gran Torino), we get two movies. This year we get three; they're all called HEREAFTER.  

Cecile de France just swallowed gallons of ocean water

The first movie begins in 2004 with Thailand's awful tsunami which killed thousands of people. It's a gripping horrific sequence that's well filmed though it risks easy ridicule with an extended shot of a teddy bear floating in the water. The terrifying waves sweep up Marie (Cecile de France), who happens to be a famous French journalist...

Read the rest in my weekly column @ Towleroad

If you saw the picture, what did you think of it? If you didn't, do you plan to?

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 Asia Reign of Assassins character posters. I am so ready to see Michelle Yeoh again. Bring this movie to me.
Empire Black Swan graphic design
/Film Green 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, the drag playlists remain exactly the same?

I wanna be loved by you, just you... and nobody else but you. i wanna be loved by you a-loh-oh-oh-ooooone. boopboopadoo. Witness: Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. Me likey.



Michelle Williams is really on fire these days, isn't she? Whether she's causing NC-17 ratings by being such a brutally honest actor (the MPAA can blow me when they're done gagging about Ryan going down on her in Blue Valentine) or putting artistry before fame, you have to appreciate. I love that she's doing things as resoundingly uncommercial as Meek's Cutoff in which she plays a quiet but strong-willed wife, lost in Indian country with her husband and a few other sorry travellers in covered wagons, simply because she obviously believes in director Kelly Reichardt.

Are you excited for My Week With Marilyn. That Eddie Redmayne, who will costar as a crew member on the set of the actual movie within the story (The Prince and the Showgirl) who Marilyn takes up with, sure is a lucky guy. First he gets to attack Cate Blanchett, then he gets to screw Julianne Moore and Hugh Dancy and Unax Ugalde and now he gets to spend an entire week with Michelle in bombshell mode!?!

.........i wanna be linked by you...boopboopadoo
Antagony & Ecstacy hates the Oscar hopeful documentary Waiting for Superman even more than I do. That's a lot by the way.
That Obscure Object -- yay, I'm not the only one who shares their celebrity dreams online. This one stars Naomi Watts & Liev Schreiber as flirtatious employers.
Studio Daily - 10 high points in digital cinematography. (The Oscars are a-changing)
Towleroad - I'm happy that Anderson Cooper is getting ballsier about calling people on their homophobia. The trailer to the new Vince Vaughn movie edited out a gay joke as result. Not that they took the joke out of the movie. But... baby steps.
Moviefone Pepé le Pew via Mike Myers vocal chords? I love Pepe but uh... I dunno.
Observations on Film Art likes that Costa-Rican Oscar submission Of Love and Other Demons.
MTV Naomi Watts will not appear in Eastern Promises 2. It's all Viggo, all the time.

Oh and here's my weekly at Towleroad with yet more linkable stories: Johnny Depp, Daniel Radcliffe and more.

Before we get to today's link roundup -- I went a little crazy as I sometimes do -- enjoy the heat sensor-like photography of the All Good Things poster. Perhaps Ryan and Kiki were a bit jealous of the ruckus Jake & Annie's nude poster caused online.


P.S. Jake Gyllenhaal is obsessed with Ryan Gosling. Just saying. I would try to quote his answer from Saturday night when the audience question 'who would you like to work with?' popped up but it was so rambling and long and confusing that I can't. But let's just say it began with Ryan Gosling, was jilted by Ryan Gosling via text "I'm busy" and then ended again with a circular non sequitor shout of "Ryan Gosling!" Jake likey. Ryan Gosling is what you might call an actor's actor... since everyone seems to want to work with him.

On to the linkage...
Candy Magazine A double take of pleasure. Yes, that's James Franco to your left continuing his trans formation from one of the great herd of Hollywood pretty boys to an actually interesting celebrity.
My New Plaid Pants is an über fan of Let the Right One In. Doesn't hate Let Me In. Since the response has been so positively muted like "it's good: also, a recreation" I've decided not to see it.
Broadway.com Carrie the Musical being revived. Wow.
Cinema Blend Me pal Katey basically says all I have to say about the trailer for Julie Taymor's Tempest so I don't need to cover it here. What she said, minus the positive bits since I liked the movie even less than she.
The Big Picture Tony Curtis grand sendoff in Las Vegas
Hero Complex Emma Stone will play Gwen Stacy in the new Spider-Man. I'm glad that early reports were wrong. Why do the whole Mary Jane story again. That said, isn't it weird that someone known as a redhead is going to play Spidey's favorite blonde and someone known as a blonde was cast as his favorite redhead. Weirdness.
The Awl Sasha Frere-Jones and Natasha VC on The Social Network. If you haven't read enough yet, it's fun as always to read these two.
50 Best Theater Blogs I'll have to investigate this list.
Just Jared Joseph Gordon-Levitt lost his older brother. So sad.
Towleroad celebs speaking about gay bullying on Larry King Live
Movie|Line offers tips to Renée Zellweger on how she could regain her A list status. I love the suggestion of a brilliant twitter feed. I hope she calls it @Zeéeee after my new nickname for her. Zeéeeee reads me right? *


Double Duty!
Movielicious Have you seen this great mashup poster for Toy Story and Tron? I wish I knew who did it to give them proper cred.
Scott Feinberg "Are Bening *And* Moore All Right." Some smart words on the The Kids Are All Right Oscar campaign.
John Luciano a Calvin & Hobbes mashup with Let the Right One In. Teehee. I used to love Calvin's girlcrush but can't remember her name right now

*Obviously I am kidding. Someone I am acquainted with who works in the industry once told me that every star googles themselves --whether they admit it or not -- and is familiar with their biggest cheerleaders and nemeses online. But I chose not to believe her because it weirded me out too much to think of Beelzebub, She Who Must Not Be Named, La Pfeiff and The Bening reading or even knowing of my puny existence.

"Dating you is like dating a stairmaster," Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) says, exasperated, in the opening sequence of THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Her personal stairmaster is Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and you're witness to a car wreck of a break-up in progress. It's emotionally gorey but there will be rubbernecking; you can't look away. If the hilarious stairmaster line doesn't hook you, something else in the screwball sharp rat-a-tat-tat of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay will. Not many movies open with five unbroken minutes of conversation but not many movies are as confidently verbal and as exhilarating made as this one. The instantly classic opening scene works like a gunshot and the movie is off.



P.S. I didn't go on and on (though I well could have) because I figure we'll have lots of opportunities to discuss this movie over the next few months, in all of its varied parts, as its totally in the game for Oscar. Go see it this weekend!

Go Fug Yourself Jamie Lee Curtis & Sigweavie repeat their You Again joke on the red carpet: same dress.
Hollywood Reporter Speaking of JLC, she has...feeelings about this True Lies reboot for TV.
Coming Soon Chloe Moretz to play Emily Strange. She's the only young girl in Hollywood. The only one you're allowed to see in anything, okay?! Learn to love her. Or else.

...And my latest column at Towleroad covers Buried with Ryan Reynolds and has a lot more linkage too, including that hilarious 'Julianne Moore Loves to Cry' video that several of you have alerted me, too. I love to watch her weep but it's not because I'm a sadist. Find out my self-rationalizing theory over there.

Something else I need to find a rationalization for: I've had Atom Egoyan's Chloe --no, not Moretz! -- sitting on my TV for a week or more now and I still haven't watched it. Damn you time management issues. This is also why posting has been slim while I've been NYFF'ing. Apologies.

P.S. More Foreign Film Oscar Submission have happened and the charts are updated. But you know what's really weird. When I was looking up the info I found this article from the AP which says the craziest thing

"Lula, the Son of Brazil" will be among 95 titles from around the world competing to be chosen for the shortlist at the US Academy Awards ceremony on February 27, the culture ministry said

Apparently the culture ministry hasn't followed the Oscars much. I've been tracking this category extensively since 2001 and I've never seen a year that hit 75 titles, let alone 95!

Here's a music video from Andrius Mamontovas from the  Latvian Oscar submission Hong Kong Confidential. Andrius also co-stars in the romantic dramedy.

Is it better to blend in or stand out?

It's a question everybody must have asked themselves at some point or another, particularly in the (peer) pressure cooker of high school. Easy A is about a good student named Olive (Emma Stone) who blends in. One day, ashamed of a lame weekend she spent alone at home, she lies to her best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka) and makes up a story. The lie quickly escalates as her bestie grills her. Before you can say "George Glass," Olive has not just invented an imaginary beau but she's also lost her virginity to him.

Word gets out...


P.S. And in case you missed it earlier, I raved about Emma Stone's star-making moves a couple of days ago for Tribeca Film for my "Best in Show" column.

/Film first set photos of January Jones as Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class. As I believe I've stated before I love this casting. But it does seem wierd that she is already pigeonholed as "sixties girl". Will this be our first true period piece superhero flick or am I forgetting something? At least they're trying something slightly different with this one.
All Things Fangirl relives the glory of (500) Days of Summer last year with summer concerts in the now featuring JGL and Zooey Deschanel.
Cinema Viewfinder There's a Cronenberg blog-a-thon going on that I didn't know about. Shame. I don't really understand the format to get to the article contributions but I'm certain there's good things to read there. I shall investigate further. Love that David Cronenberg.
/Film long interview with Never Let Me Go director Mark Romanek.
Film Business Asia the upcoming London Film Festival (we'll be covering it again) has a healthy selection of Asian films.
Sina Andy Lau. Let him eat cake (for an early birthday celebration)
Topless Robot would like you to calm the f*** down about that picture from the set of Captain America.
DListed Henry Cavill on the set of The Cold Light of the Day

Finally, in my weekly column over @ Towleroad I've got a brief bit about The Romantics and yet more links including the sad news that character actor Glenn Shadix passed away two days ago. He's best known as "Otho" from Beetlejuice but when I think of him I nearly always think of that funeral scene in Heathers..."ESK-I-MO!!!" I also lovelovelovelove the two-faced Mayor from The Nightmare Before Christmas which he voiced. He hadn't been seen on the screen much lately but he was actually blogging just last week.He will be missed but he sure will live on through those comedy classics.

I've updated the foreign film pages to reflect some of our now known contenders: Iraq (Son of Babylon), The Netherlands (Tirza), Romania (If I Want to Whistle, I'll Whistle) and Taiwan (Monga) have all announced. South Korea has narrowed their list down to six films, though most suspect it'll be Lee Chang-Dong's Poetry in the end. Many countries have yet to announce but there's still time. We generally don't know the full list until sometime in October. And some of the submissions won't have even opened in their home countries yet. (Foreign language submissions have to have been released in their home countries between October 1st, 2009 through Sept 30th, 2010 to compete in this category for the 2010 film year.) UPDATE: if you're looking for the current race (2011) that's here.

Many countries have yet to announce but there's still time. We generally don't know the full list until sometime in October. And some of the submissions won't have even opened in their home countries yet. (Foreign language submissions have to have been released in their home countries between October 1st, 2009 through Sept 30th, 2010 to be eligible in this category for the 2010 film year.)

So far in the competitive lineups we have two rough sets of twins: two dramas about young male criminals (Taiwan & Romania) and two journey films wherein an older person searches for their adult child with a young child helping them (Iran & The Netherlands). And yes, "Oscar already loves the Iran and Dutch entries sight unseen," he said sarcastically. This AMPAS branch just digs cross generational journeys. A lot. You know they do.

I wrote about the Taiwanese submission Monga very briefly over at Towleroad earlier this year because of some talk show incident wherein they asked the 20something leads, Mark Zhao and Ethan Ruan, to kiss. I can't imagine an American talk show asking Young Hollywood co-stars to kiss. Could you imagine the ruckus if the ladies from The View asked the Twilight boys to lip lock in order to get their trailer shown?

To quote Nomi Malone... "different places!"

Here are the popular boys singing "Tonight Tonight" from Monga (with clips from the movie). It appears to be the theme song though Wikipedia states differently saying that this cover of "Making Love Out of Nothing At All," the Air Supply classic, has that honor. ("!!!" and also "???")



I'll update more Oscar pages tomorrow. In the meantime, if you need more Oscar speculation check out All These Wonderful Things' list of documentary hopefuls.
*