Live FeedGlee inspired political attack ad. Who knew an attack ad could be cute? Kenneth in the (212) my friend Kenneth will be seen briefly in the new Mindy Cohn gay flick Violet Tendencies. When was the last time you heard "new Mindy Cohn flick"... let alone a gay one? Pop Justice "Bad Romance" is one year old today. Kinda. Still love it.
This Leonardo TotallyLooksLike double got
saved on my computer months ago. Every time I
notice it I start giggling. So I must finally share.
Vulture worries that Thor's Frost Giants will battle for the home tree in Avatar. Please. Thor should be so lucky to be (favorably) compared to Avatar. I'm guessing. I am just sensing a terrible terrible movie coming our way. IndieWire assures us that the Spirit Awards are returning to their Saturday afternoon by the beach tradition. ArtsBeat Broadway cools down its celebrity lust... for the current moment at least. Popbytes Speaking of... can you believe that The King's Speech is already planning its Broadway bow? It hasn't even opened in movie theaters yet! MTV Ang Lee's Life of Pi gets one step closer to production by casting its lead actor 17 year-old Suraj Sharma Just Jared Tom Hardy for Snow White and the Hunstman? I'm in. Just please let some of these new fairy tale movies NOT view Tim Burton's hideous Alice as something to emulate.
...and some artwork for you
Y'all don't comment on the art related posts but you're going to keep getting them because Nathaniel likes to draw and he loves the artists out there making the internet a more beautiful / whimsical / imaginative place. Deal! Becky Cloonan "Sluts of Dracula" omg love these sketches. And the title is to undie for. Austin Translation "Bitter Moments with Count Chocula" a wee Twilight dig.
Cele|Bitchy shared cel phone bikini pics of Demi Moore. Gawker, where I first saw these photos in a clueless* article on John Travolta, suggests that Demi is starring in her own real life adaptation of Benjamin Button.
But I think what we're looking at is a Countess Elizabeth Bálthory situation.This 47 year old superlebrity is obviously bathing in the blood of virgins.
I still haven't had an opportunity to see Julie Delpy's horror/bio/period film version of this tale, The Countess. None of the confusing and rare reports of the other film version (the one supposedly featuring Tilda Swinton) seem to give me much hope that it's actually not an elaborate internet delusion. But obviously this story should be able to resonate in our youth obsessed age where 50 is the new 40 and 40 is the new 30 and every single pitch meeting on the West Coat involves vampires.
Might I suggest an I'm Not There / Palindromes style interpretation where all of Hollywood's most mysteriously ageless women get a crack at the role? Or maybe they should just make an omnibus film I ♥ Bathory with, say, a dozen filmmakers doing shorts on the evil Hungarian royal that picked up the vampiric baton from Vlad the Impaler back in the day -- the day being the 16th century.
Three recent film interpretations: Stay Alive (2006), The Countess (2009) and Bathory (2008) starring Anna Friel
But which filmmakers could do that fascinating story justice in short film form? I'm going with Martin Scorsese because he's always a bit more unpredictable when he skews girlie (see Age of Innocence or Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore); Jonathan Glazer because he needs to work more and Birth proves that he knows from eery and disorienting psychology; Lynne Ramsay because some of those shots in Morvern Callar were downright spooky and hallucinatory while still seeming so grounded in mundane realities; Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!) because there are five operas about Báthory and one musical, and I'd love to see how he'd respond to the constraints of a short film.
Obviously I wantthis supposed 2011 version starring Tilda Swinton and Isabelle Huppert but it sounds way too good to be true. I mean, Tilda and Isabelle?! Simultaneously!??? Get real. You don't even need sets or costumes or other actors. You just need a camera since both of those faces just emanate Unknowable Unfathomable Unboring Psychology.
But play my little game anyway. Which director would you like to see making a short film about the 16th century female alleged serial killer / vampire ? Sound off in the comments. Don't even say Tim Burton. I'm warning you!
*Trust me, if this is truly the "worst kept secret" for decades now, Kelly Preston knows. I love that people pretend otherwise. It's so cute and reverse sexist, Hollywood wives as wide eyed innocents. Hee. ♪Money... ♪Money changes everything.
. JA from MNPP here with this week's Monday Monologue.
The original Hungarian fang-banger Bela Lugosi died 54 years ago today. His entire career was haunted, one might say, by his role as Dracula in Tod Browning's 1931 film. He played the role on the stage in 1927 and he would be buried just twenty-nine years later in one of his costumes from that same stage production.
But as with the famed Count himself, one life wasn't enough for Bela - he'd reappear posthumously three years later in Ed Wood's crap-classic Plan 9 From Outer Space donning a familiar cape in footage shot for another project that Wood edited into the film as a nonsensical, though loving, tribute to his friend.
Or at least that's the way Tim Burton's 1994 masterpiece Ed Wood romanticizes the story. Resurrecting Bela anew, Martin Landau turned in a brilliant performance therein that finally brought Landau a much-deserved Oscar after earlier nominations for Tucker and Crimes and Misdemeanors and served as a reminder of the sad final few years of Bela's life.
.
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CONRAD: (Brent Hinkley): Mr. Lugosi, I know you're very busy, but could I have your autograph?
BELA: Of course.
CONRAD: You know which movie of yours I love, Mr. Lugosi? "The Invisible Ray." You were great as Karloff's sidekick.
The Invisible Ray came out in 1936 and was the third of five films the two horror icons would make together (not counting 1934's Gift of Gab, which was just an excuse for the studio to keep a slew of their stars working between pictures and is kind of like a Golden Age episode of The Love Boat). By all accounts their roles in The Invisible Ray - wherein they play scientists who've discovered a toxic meteorite in Africa - are of equal standing and they received equal billing for it. The only time Lugosi got second-billing to Karloff in all the times they acted together was in 1935's The Raven, and it doesn't make much sense there - Lugosi actually has the much bigger part! (It's also one of his finest performances, you should check it out.)
BELA: "Sidekick"??? "KARLOFF"??? Fuck you!! Karloff doesn't deserve to smell my shit! That limey cocksucker can rot in hell, for all I care!
ED: What happened?! Jesus, Connie, what did you do?
CONRAD: Nothing! I told him he was great.
BELA: How dare that asshole bring up Karloff?!! You think it takes talent to play Frankenstein?! NO! It's just make-up and grunting! GRRR! GRRR! GRRR!
Lugosi always claimed that he turned down the part of Frankenstein because it was a non-speaking part and then he himself recommended Karloff for the role. Others claim that Frankenstein director James Whale spotted Karloff in the studio commissary and asked him to test for the part and liked what he saw. Knowing the way Bela was prone to let's say amplify his accomplishments, I don't think we'd be straying in the wrong direction if we leaned towards the latter explanation, but time's erased the facts and replaced it with a much more entertaining miasma of bickering and speculation. As time and fictionalizations are wont to do. By all accounts Bela never cursed either, but where would this performances be without all the colorful expletives?
ED: You're right, Bela. Now Dracula, that's a part that takes acting.
BELA: Of course! Dracula requires presence. It's all in the voice, and the eyes, and the hand…
ED: Look, you seem a little agitated. Do you maybe wanna take a little break, go for a nice walk... and then we'll come back and shoot the scene?
BELA: BULLSHIT! I am ready now! Roll the camera!!
.
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ED: Um, okay... roll camera… And... action?
BELA: "Beware. Beware! Beware, of the big green dragon that sits on your doorstep. He eats little boys! Puppy dog tails! Big fat snails! Beware. Take care. Beware!"
It's a "yes, no, maybe so" first. It's just a yes and no which is actually just a no. Bias alert!
Let Me In While I normally try and maintain an open mind about new films, beyond the common 'I know what I like' biases that every critic or casual moviegoer goes in with (whether or not they admit to it... but that's another topic), this is a special case. I'm a "No" before watching the trailer given that the whole thing reminds me of nothing more than those knockoff dresses meant to replicate a popular Oscar gown. Only in this case, it makes no sense to buy the knockoff because it's not any cheaper than the great original. In fact, it's more expensive since ticket prices are always going up.
But before I even watched the trailer I must admit unoriginal but sincere confusion as to why the aesthetically beautiful teaser poster is constructed of blood and ice. One of the most chilling aspects (hahaha) of the original film was its wintry Scandinavian setting. The new film supposedly relocates the movie to New Mexico but both the poster and the trailer suggest we're still in wintry Scandinavia. Now, I've personally only been to New Mexico once, for cheesy 'Drive around the four corners!' tourist reasons so my knowledge is extremely untrustworthy... but it didn't strike me as a wintry place at all. And though I'm no meteorological expert I have the vague perception that it's not very cold in the Southwest even in the winter. Do lakes even freeze over in the winter?
Whatever. I'll shut up. It's just a poster. Here's the trailer.
Yes Here's the one thing I'm genuinely curious about. What's the cinematography by Greig Fraser going to be like over the course of the whole film? His work on Bright Star was just exceptional. I could see forgiving this film's existence if it made people notice (retroactively) how amazing his work on Bright Star was since it won virtually no awards. No I can answer that in five words "Let the Right One In" or I could use just two "Chloe Moretz". Maybe So A trailer has finally stumped me. I have no mixed feelings about this movie. I object to its very existence as well as all the credit it will get as "original" or "visionary" or whatever adjective the press notes will supply people should it happen to win good reviews whilst copying a superior film.
BlaA--AA--aaaARRrrrggh. Sorry.
Are you a yes, no or maybe so? I won't judge you. I'm still too busy judging the film I haven't seen. *
from left to right:Tim Burton (Jury President and Johnny Depp's #1 Fan), Alberto Barbera (Italian film festival biggie), Victor Erice (Spanish Director of the acclaimed Frankenstein picture The Spirit of the Beehive), Giovanna Mezzorgiorno (Award-winning Italian actress, Vincere recently boosted her international profile), Emmanuel Carrere (French writer), Alexandre Desplat (composer and last minute juror... this man must never sleep or have several clones of himself given his workload), Benicio del Toro (Oscar winning Puerto Rican actor and werewolf), Shekhar Kapur (Indian director of Elizabeth fame), and Kate Beckinsale (British hottie, vampire who hates werewolves).
Danger! Benicio's getting way too close to Beckinsale.
You know Tim Burton wants to direct this battle. Or at least art-direct the buildings and landscapes surrounding the battle. And though Desplat sorta already scored it (The Twilight Saga:New Moon) he'd have to toss that out like a temp track and find Danny Elfman for the real thing.
This jury is positively supernatural... frankenstein, werewolves, vampires.
<--- but monster mash aside kate beckinsale knows how to make an entrance doesn t she it looks like s stepping out of a technolor musical and floating seamlessly onto the most prestigious film festival red carpets or model in one those color fashion interludes black white comedy span style="font-style: italic;">The Women (1939), maybe.
Antagony & Ecstasy - churns up a summer appropriate top ten list: best performances in comic-based films. Impeccable choices really (especially the top tier) and fine write ups (especially the two on Superman). MNPP wants this Fright Night remake (another vampire movie?) immediately thanks to the wonderful-on-paper cast Erik Lundegaard - is making a thorough, interesting trek through past Robin Hood films. Something I wanted to do but never found time for. Argh. Sunset Gun "How Little We Know" a fine piece on the cinema of Wong Kar Wai, Days of Being Wild specifically
/Film has a lengthy word for word interview with Justin Theroux. Sadly it's only about Iron Man 2. I hope he acts again. David Lynch where are you??? By Ken Levine "The Truth about Lady Gaga". This article makes me want to watch Man in the Moon again. Remember that one? The one that was supposed to net Jim Carrey an Oscar nomination? Deviant Art has a pretty amazing Pulp Fiction graphic, displaying the film chronologically. Something the film never displays don'cha know popbytes Cynthia Nixon covers The Advocate Just Jared Winona Ryder and Channing Tatum to play lovers in Ron Howard's Cheaters. Hmmm, strangely I like the idea, well, except for the Ron Howard part A Socialite's Life John Barrowman as Alladin? Fun pics but why no more Torchwood? *sniffle* Boing Boing Here's an interesting one for you small screen enthusiasts. This is a list from a tv executive explaining 12 reasons why certain shows get picked up by networks.
my favorite goodbyes to Lena Horne Guardian David Thomson refuses to talk about Lena for 671 words The Sheila Variations wonderful personalized tribute to Lena here Time Magazine Richard Corliss kicks off their tribute with a 'shoulda been' obituary Variety Ted Johnson has the Obama family's statement The Auteurs Daily collects the online tributes and obits
Remember when I told you about that dinner party when Amy Heckerling told me she wanted Michelle Pfeiffer for Vamps? Either Heckerling didn't get her or things changed or we don't know much about the fanged girls in New York plot.
It's apparently Sigourney Weaver who is on board as a vampire queen "Ciccerus" in Heckerling's new comedy with Alicia Silverstone (reuniting with her Clueless guide) and Krysten Ritter in the lead roles. Weaver is aces in genre pieces (The Alien franchise) and in comedies (Working Girl, The TV Set) and she's also adept at doing both at once (Ghostbusters, Galaxy Quest) so it's probably a smart choice.
Still, I wish La Pfeiff had Sigweavie's work ethic. The 51 year-old blond goddess has no future projects in the works whereas the 60 year-old amazon brunette has several projects lined up post Avatar including a handful of movies and one TV project. The TV project G-String Mother sounds great. We've seen a million tv, film and stage adaptations of Gypsy... but this particular Gypsy Rose Lee story isn't about the early vaudeville days leading to stripping but about the stripper quitting in the 50s and then continuing to shill her own legend (which caused those million tv, film and stage adaptations). I see winged Emmy in her future.
A lot of actors get plentiful work after appearing in a blockbuster (the wishful-thinking being that all the money magnetism will transfer even if the actor-in-question wasn't the lead) but in Weaver's case, you can't even blame Avatar for the steady simmer of her career. The actress hasn't stopped working since her film debut in Annie Hall (1977).
You've probably already heard that former teen star Corey Haim was found dead today at 38, apparently of a drug overdose. Hollywood can unfortunately fill whole cemeteries with actors whose brief bouts of fame seem to have preceded (or caused?) drug-filled obscurity. Fame can't be easy to deal with, and though most of us can only guess, faded fame might be even harder still. [Not all former child / teen stars have difficulties with anonymity though. I remember seeing early 90s star Mayim Bailik (TV's Blossom but, more importantly, young Bette Midler in Beaches!) on an episode of "What Not to Wear" fairly recently. She seemed happy and content with just being a regular person.]
I never saw Corey's recent short lived TV show "The Two Coreys", in which he co-starred with his frequent screen partner and fellow teen icon Corey Feldman, mostly because the fame-whoring subgenre of reality TV makes me crazy uncomfortable. I don't feel "above it" per se -- I know many readers love reality tv so I'm not trying to get judgey -- but I just literally can't watch any show that's about the Z list. It pushes all my buttons and not in the good way. The talent contest wing of the medium is way more my style.
Corey Haim & Winona Ryder (her film debut) in Lucas (1986) [src photo]
Anyway... Corey Haim was a teen sensation when I myself was a teenager so it's sad news. I first became aware of him in Murphy's Romance (1985) a Sally Field comedy in her peak movie years and the high school film Lucas (1986). For me the latter film was all about the introduction of Winona Ryder. I was a complete goner the moment I saw her and told my parents that she was going to be hugely famous. (One of my most prescient movie-watching moments). So I remember Haim best as the obnoxious excitable kid brother in The Lost Boys. Corey provided the comic relief while his screen brother (Jason Patric) provided the dreamy brooding. My favorite thing about Corey's performance was how uncool it was. He was smart and funny enough to play actual fear while doing heroic things like fighting vampires rather than attempting the more macho posturing many actors do when they're required to do brave things like battling supernatural monsters in their caves. Always loved that movie.
According to his IMDb page, Corey had several projects lined up for the next couple of years so obviously some of those movies will have to recast. More on Corey's last days here.
Rest in peace Corey Haim, one-time vampire killer.
Movies Kick Ass deconstructs yet another photoshop casualty (i.e. movie poster), this one for NINE . My thoughts on that film will hopefully be up later today... time is a tough taskmaster. Cinema Styles looks forward to Luise Rainer's 100th birthday in January. We should all be celebrating! Especially since she'll (god willing) still be alive for it. She was Oscar's very first two-time acting winner... beating Spencer Tracy to the title by one year. Topless Robot Batman's TV villains who should make the leap to the screen Scanners (sarcastically) hates on ambiguous movie endings Empire keeps track of Thor's ever expanding cast list so you don't have to. The only person this chart is missing (as far as I know) is Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist) In Contention looks at the Adapted Screenplay Oscar race Noh Way expresses photographic love for director/muse duos beyond Pedro & Penélope
Sexiest Men Alive? popbytes is on the Brad Pitt beard watch. Did it cost Brad the title of... People's "Sexiest Men Alive". It's not just Johnny Depp. Roughly every famous person shows up. Though... Go Fug Yourself has a laugh about the Glee photoshoot therein My New Plaid Pants, uninfluenced by mainstream rags, remembers his love for Jean Claude Van Damme [nsfw]
Twi-Hard Bright Lights After Dark "tortured longing is the new coke" Erich's inner 13 year old makes a case for The Twilight Saga: New Moon Erik Lundegaard gleans box office meaning: stop ignoring girls Variety director Chris Weisz blames New Line for the way The Golden Compass (2007) turned out. You know, I liked that movie more than most but it was but 1/20th of what it could have been given how excellent the book is. But I'm not sure you can take this in a black & white way, blame wise. Why would they interfere so much there but not on The Lord of the Rings? Would they have interfered with Peter Jackson if he weren't such a goddamn visionary? I just think this is probably a gray area unless Weisz has suddenly shown new cinematic mastery with New Moon. And well... Antagony and Ecstasy thinks it's "boring as fuck-all". And wouldn't that indicate some degree of problems with Weisz' powers behind the camera?
...and no, I have no real plans to see New Moon. Unless it falls into my lap, I shan't ever know if it improves upon the original (which wouldn't be a significant hurdle). Time and money are both precious commodity this time of year. I have so many movies left to see in such a short time frame before awards are passed out. So I'm not going to pay hard earned $ to be bored (and support Mormon causes financially) if I don't have to for Oscar write up purposes. I'm guessing I don't have to worry about this movie securing nominations. If I'm wrong I promise to stare at Kristen Stewart and her dead eyes (shouldn't she be playing the vampire?) for 2.5 hours and issue my mea culpas. *
Rumor Alert! Or, rather, 'Possiblity Alert'! And one you haven't heard yet. The other evening at a dinner party, I chatted briefly with writer/director Amy Heckerling (of Clueless fame). Since her very last feature I Could Never Be Your Woman starred Michelle Pfeiffer, you know I couldn't resist gushing about my favorite actress. The conversation quickly drifted to Saoirse Ronan, who played Pfeiffer's daughter in that film. Heckerling was very proud to have discovered her (...Woman preceeding Atonement, production-wise) and wouldn't you be?
Leaving the party later, I wished Heckerling well on her new comedy Vamps which should go before cameras in the spring. Remembering me as that weirdly obsessed pfan-guy, Heckerling clasped her hands together in supplication and said 'I hope I get Pfeiffer for it.'
[Collective Pfan Gasp!]
Has an offer gone out? Could Pfeiffer finally have a vampiric role? The movie is still in preproduction with only Kristen Ritter signed. IMDB describes the comedy like so...
Two female vampires in modern-day New York City are faced with daunting romantic possibilities
One assumes with Ritter in the lead that the two vamps are young women... but perhaps Pfeiffer could be a ruling bloodsucker? A vampire queen? Pfeiffer has been leaning towards the wicked and showy supporting bits since her comeback (Hairspray, Stardust) and I know one or one-hundred pfans* who have long fantasized about Michelle sinking her teeth into that sort of role. There's just something about her ferocity. The closest we ever got was her lupine beauty in Wolf. * *
Who needs holidays? Make your own with the birthdays of movie people.
Parker, Oleg and Vlad the Impaler (as interpreted by Gary Oldman)
Today's Birthdays 11/08 1431 Vlad the Impaler would have turned 578 years old today if not for that stake through the heart. To be accurate, his exact birthday is unknown but sometimes he's listed on this date which probably has something to do with... 1847 Bram Stoker who wrote the original Dracula, which gave Vlad the immortality that he had mythically already won as the original nosferatu... vampyr. The cinema loves him harder and deeper than Lucy Harker ever could. 1900 Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind. She didn't have to impale anyone or renounce heaven to achieve immortality. She just had to write one mammoth book. The movie based on her novel is still the highest grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation. One of only four films to have ever topped a billion dollars in theatrical:
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Star Wars (1977)
The Sound of Music (1965)
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
Seems odd that 3/4ths of them came after the birth of television, though.
1913 June Havoc forever known as"Baby June" thanks to the enduring fame of Gypsy on stage and screen. June never achieved the pop culture iconicity that her sister Gypsy Rose Lee did though they've both been played by countless actresses since. But she turns 96 today (wow!). Film appearances include: My Sister Eileen, Gentlemen's Agreement and the infamous Village People movie Can't Stop the Music). <--- 1935 Alain Delon legendary French beauty who played that Talented Mr. Tom Ripley (Plein Soleil) long before Matt Damon did. Other highlights include Rocco and His Brothers and Le Samouraï 1952 Alfre Woodard, how can you be an Oscar nominee and four-time Emmy winner and still be underappreciated? Yet somehow, she is. Damn you, Hollywood! 1960 Oleg Menshikov terrific Russian actor and star of Oscar foreign film nominees like Est-Ouest, Burnt by the Sun and Prisoner of the Mountains. 1960 Michael Nyqvist, Swedish actor of As in Heaven, Tilsammans (wonderful, rent it) fame. He's also in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which just won EFA nominations. 1972 Gretchen Mol of The Notorious Bettie Page promise. Where's the big follow up? 1975 Tara Reid once worked with the Coen Bros and Robert Altman. The cautionary tale that Lindsay Lohan forgot to read.
Finally, a happy joint birthday wish to best friends Craig Chester (turning 44) and Parker Posey (turning 41), survivors of the 90s indie movie scene. Posey you know and love as a hipster icon, diva, Party Girl, actress, sassy vampiress, Lex Luthor's gal, Libby Mae Brown ("Who's on top and who's on bottom now???") and many other terrific screen characters. She's a gift that never stops giving. Chester you should know as one of the original stars of the New Queer Cinema in films like Grief and Swoon. He was one of the very few trailblazing out actors of the 90s. This decade he wrote, directed and starred in Adam & Steve but no films since. Hmmm. And because they are so adorable I'm breaking my photographic "birthday suit" rule to include this photo by Lorenzo di Flaneur of the pair celebrating their birthday together in 2006.
It's Halloween Week! Though a horror movie wuss I be there's one movie monster who I'll always give it up for, the vampire. Herewith: the film & television vampires who I would find most difficult to resist. (I've restricted myself to the past 30 years because there are too many I haven't seen from earlier... like those Hammer Horror films Matt was just talking 'bout). Should these 10 suckers ever come knocking, I shan't be wearing a cross, turtleneck or smelling of garlic.
10 Dracula (Gerard Butler) in Dracula 2000 (2000) There are abundant lists of "best/sexiest vamps" on the net, but most of them go off in directions I can't support [cough Twilight... must everything be about page views? They twinkle. In the sun. Ugh]. But The Daily Beast makes a good point in favor of Gerard Butler: Ceiling Sex.
09 Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) in The Lair of the White Worm (1988) Anyone remember Donohoe? I had a friend who was obsessed with her in the late 80s. And I like vampires to be as interested in their own cruel beauty and fashion choices as they are into their dietary choices. Plus: Ken Russell makes indescribably weird movies. Or at least he used to.
08 Armand (Antonio Banderas) in Interview with the Vampire (1994) He really shouldn't be on this list since I hate the way they handle his character in the movie and I hate the wig, too. Mostly I just put him here to get back at all of the idiot strangers sitting in that multiplex with me in Utah, circa 1994. They ruined so many movies when I lived there. The conservative audience was super vocally terrified that Louis and Armand were going to kiss in their big invitation/refusal scene. Stupidly, in complete disregard for the tone of Rice's vampire chronicles, they didn't. The homophobic audience was hugely relieved but Armand was not. That Louis, such a fang tease. Now Armand will have to find solace elsewhere (<-- that link is nsfw but i laughed my ass off when saw it so had to share span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">
07 The Count (Jerry Nelson) in Sesame Street (1972-present) Ever since a certain episode of 30Rock last season, I've found it difficult not to envision people as muppets (was anything more hilarious last season than Liz Lemon's muppet walk?)...even myself. Plus felt fangs would tickle more than hurt and I'm not so much into pain.
06 PLACE HOLDER I think with the reinvigoration of the vampire genre, more competitors for this list will soon emerge. I'm particular fascinated by the idea of Julie Delpy and Tilda Swinton in those competing CountessBathory movies. Watching either of them bathing in virgin blood would be quite arrestingly cinematic, would it not? Delpy's movie must have been finished ages ago. What's going on there? Why haven't we seen it? It can't be as bad as her last journey into the supernatural.
05 Lucy Westenra (Sadie Frost) in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Still one of the most spectacularly creepy vampires the cinema ever dreamt up. Thank you Francis Ford Coppola. She's game for anything with a pulse: demonic wolf men, crying babies, Winona Ryder. In fact, her appetite would make even the oldest vampires blush... and she's barely been turned. She's also on the list because her walk is more mesmerizing than most vampire's magical stare-downs. Bonus points: the actress slept with Jude Law for many years and who needs six degrees of separation when you can narrow that down to one?
04 Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgård) in True Blood (2008-present) I'm still pissed they're not letting him play Thor. Casting fail.
03 Spike (James Marsters) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (-1996) I know a lot of people hate the way Spike took over the best television show of all time towards the end and I kind of did, too. But remember that episode when Buffy and Spike were having so much sex that the house collapsed in on them? So Much Sex. That wasn't the usual suspend-your-disbelief supernatural extraganza episode. That was a documentary about what it's like to have sex with James Marsters. I'm guessing.
02 Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) in The Hunger (1983) I'm always horrified when she doesn't make best vampire lists in favor of sparkle-in-the-sunlight bloodless mouth breathers like Robert Pattison. Deneuve forever (which is what you get if you hook up with her as David Bowie and Susan Sarandon discovered)!
Also, to the best of my knowledge, Catherine Deneuve is the only actual immortal to have ever played a fictional immortal onscreen. Points for that.
Hammer Horror films are not truly part of the gay canon, and as a body of films they are conservative in their narrative arcs and messages. However, I've always been a huge fan. They are undeniably camp and always feature either subtle homoeroticism or full on Lesbian Vampires. For those unfamiliar with this horror subgenre, it is a collection of films produced by Hammer Film Studios from the late 50s to early 70s that mixed Gothic melodrama with exploitation horror. The studio was most famous for their vampire, mummy, Frankenstein, and cave girl pictures.
The vampire films stand head and shoulders above the rest. Hammer's Vampires went through two major cycles, the gothic Dracula films with Christopher Lee and the later sexploitation-y lesbian vampire films. The early Hammer films are the most respectable. The closer you get to the seventies, the trashier and campier the films become. Obviously the later ones are my favorites! Two representative films from each cycle are the Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968) and the girls boarding school set Lust for A Vampire (1971).
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave has Dracula being resurrected accidentally by a cowardly, wayward priest who becomes the dark prince's slave. Dracula returns to his castle only to find it has been exorcised by the Monsignor. He goes off in search of the Monsignor's virginal niece to corrupt and bring her over to the dark side.
The film's camp is off the charts, with heaving bosoms, fake blood, and Dracula's potent sexual allure entrapping men, women, and......virgins. Dracula's blood shot eyes are supposed to signify his evil, but they really just look like he's smoked alot of weed before going out cruising.
Lee's relationship with his slave priest has elements of S&M, while the virginal Maria is only too happy to trade in her virtue for some dark and steamy vampire sex. The film might end reaffirming the superiority of heterosexual monogamy, but it has too much fun showing all the transgressive sexuality embodied by Dracula to be effective. The overacting, melodramatic plots, kitchy sets, and costumes all add to the fun, making the film as campy as Mommie Dearest. The director uses endless coloured filters, making sections seem like a Gothic acid trip. While it has an overlong prologue, the film is really fun and has a lot to offer the gay spectator, not the least of which is Christopher Lee's dominant Dracula.
Lust for A Vampire is loosely based on Sheridan le Fanu's archetypal lesbian vampire novellaCarmilla(1872). The film has the Karnstein family resurrect the buxom Carmilla Karnstein in order to enroll her in an all-girls boarding school for the sole purpose of allowing her maximum access to dishy young virgins. This film's camp is exponentially higher than the Lee films, because the whole point of this film is seeing a minxy vampire seduce anyone who makes eye contact with her (literally).
There are plenty of girl-on-girl massages, blood soaked breasts, and over dramatic declarations of love and lust to keep even the most jaded cult fan interested. The acting is dreadful, the dialogue is worse, but the look (sets, costumes, cast, and again use of filters) is beautiful, in that iconic Hammer Horror style. There are so many incredible moments. Richard's dream sequence is amazingly kaleidoscopic in its use of fade-outs, dayglo filters, psychedelic music, and sex-and-gore images.
Another key scene is the resurrection of Carmilla where a virgin's blood makes her materialise naked and blood soaked. Any of the lesbian sequences or spontaneous declarations of love (my count: 4) are worth the price of a rental. It's possibly the trashiest and most enjoyable of the entire Hammer oeuvre and not to be missed.
These films have so much to offer a spectator who relishes camp, and their explorations of non-normative sexualities (regardless of their ultimate affirmations of heterosexual monogamy) make them important and enjoyable members of the Queer Horror cannon. Other late greats are Taste the Blood of Dracula(1969), The Vampire Lovers(1970), Dracula A.D. 1972(1972), and the mummy film Blood from the Mummy's Tomb(1971).
Kate Bush pays tribute in the amazing song Hammer Horror
Does anyone have any other favourite gay or gay-ish horror films for us to enjoy over Halloween? *
Which stars have been out and about this past week? Whole galaxies of them. I've collected a few randomly for this edition of the red carpet lineup. It's but a tiny fraction of the luminaries since we're now in the thick of festival season. Telluride is behind us, Venice wraps today, and Toronto just kicked off. And that's just the big ones.
Nicholas Hoult and Julianne Moore hit Venice for the premiere of A Single Man (see previous post). An Education's Carey Mulligan, quickly emerging as the one to beat for Best Actress, is going to be fought over fiercely when it comes to dressing for the Oscars, just watch. She wore this Prada 09 Fall/Winter collection piece for her film's Toronto premiere. Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly and her perpetually Oscar snubbed husband Paul Bettany were also in Toronto promoting the Charles Darwin biography / marital drama Creation.
Finally, Venice had the cast of the sci-fi drama Mr. Nobody starring Jared Leto as a 120 year-old man. And, what do you know, Sarah Polley came. Polley sightings are exciting since she's not exactly a red carpet staple. But --and it feels so weird to say this given my actress predilections -- I'd rather she get back behind the camera very soon as a writer/director. Away From Her was just fine filmmaking.
What else ya got, Sarah?
Little Know Fact: In late May of 1960 all of the world's major film festivals met for a wild orgy at Cannes. Just as La Dolce Vita was handed the Palme D'Or, Tilda Swinton was conceived. Cannes herself, heavy with child, fled to England and gave birth to Tilda not five months later (everything happens quickly at festivals). It's totally true! For Tilda is the film festival anthropomorphized: the rush of celebrity, the discovery of the exotic, the air of the international and the thrill of the avant garde. Festivals just don't feel complete without her, do they?
She was all over Venice last week (I've repurposed the photos from Zimbio). Witness...
Tilda's Venice palette: baggy black (a la 07 Oscars), earth tones, white.
I wonder if she'll show up in Toronto? While in Venice, she was promoting Lo Sono L'Amore, an Italian drama. Longtime Swintonites should note that a reunion with her Teknolust director is currently in development. It's called Gene to the Fourth and the actress would play a woman seeking eternal life through scientific experiments. But first, and as early as April, Swinton is set to go before the cameras as Die Blutgräfin (The Blood Countess). Yes, that's the same vampiric Hungarian role that Julie Delpy played in the unreleased film The Countess, a film I'm starting to feel I'll never have the opportunity to see. *
Your Internet Movie Rule: Robert De Niro is... Sunset Gun Kim Morgan talks to Tarantino <---Empire what film will director Bryan Singer do next? I'm just going to admit it: I don't really get his career. It seems so directionless despite a collection of generally good films MNPP Michael Fassbender Four Times (he's fast becoming someone I totally care about!) A Blog Next Door with a surprise observation about Adaptation (2002) Coffee Coffee and More Coffee on the import/export game, the shrinking market for foreign films and how Hollywood doesn't play fair INF "Aniston: Zellweger Stole My Man" I've never made a secret that I'm not a fan of Jennifer Aniston and her trademark 'abandoned woman' victimhood. On the other hand, I think all tabloids, celeb mags and gossip blogs ought to pay her tithing each year, you know? If Charlie Parker... frames within frames. Lovely
Did you see The Wolf Man trailer? Benicio Del Toro plays the fuzzy wuzzy. I'm so pleased to see Hugo Weaving again (see previous post) but was it really a good idea to cast Anthony Hopkins in this? Seems like the choice is too obvious, too directly reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
Topless Robot expresses what I suspect will be widespread feelings about this film before it opens. Poor lycanthropes. They never get any respect when it comes to monster movies. It's gotta be vampires, don't it?
Last year the hit Swedish vampire picture Let the Right One In was passed over for Oscar submission in favor of the historical drama Everlasting Moments (which was nearly nominated last year). This year another vampiric import meets the same fate. Thirst, currently on US screens, was passed over in favor of Bong Joon-ho's acclaimed drama Mother. The Hollywood Reporter claims that six films were considered but only names three, the third being the hit documentary Old Partner about a man and his beloved ox. But back to Thirst. It's probably a wise snub on Korea's part. AMPAS has just never loved the blood suckers. The gold man might as well be carrying a stake instead of a sword.
This is not to say that Mother isn't a deserving choice. It's the story of a woman out to prove her son's innocence in a local murder. Word is that it's a very good picture. Trivia note! This is Bong Joon-ho's first Oscar submission. He's best known for the hit monster movie The Host which will be needlessly remade for America -- it's hardly inaccessible as is!
Foreign films make up a teensy sliver of US box office and their market share seems to be sadly shrinking. In other countries, the box office pie is divided up mostly between Hollywood pictures and homegrown efforts.
Glancing at the charts from Korean Cinema Today -- I've just added the flags to the chart for ease of categorization -- you can see that they're actually flocking to their own films. China is the only other country (besides the US) to figure in with the star-heavy Red Cliff 2. It's kind of odd to see the much maligned Terminator Salvation at the tippity top of any box office hits chart but there it is in print.
While Korean films have often won praise on the festival circuit and found fans in arthouses, they've yet to be nominated for an Oscar. Here are their most recent submissions (links to Netflix for the available titles):
2008 Crossing Over by Tae-Gyun Kim
2007 Secret Sunshine by Chang Dong Lee. This film won Do-yeon Jeon Best Actress at Cannes. The jury made a fine choice. She's sensational in the picture, giving a rangey nuanced, furious and tearjerking performance.
2006 The King and the Clown by Jun ik-Lee. You can't rent this gayish period epic for some reason but you can watch it online
2003 Spring, Summer, Fall Winter... and Spring(pictured left) by Kim Ki-Duk . I'm still sad that Oscar passed over this profoundly moving elegantly structured picture.