The Birds (1963) gets the prequel we definitely needed...
The Birds (The Prequel) from NYSUfilms on Vimeo.
... because everyone hates movies without exposition / backstory. [/sarcasm] I love the gentle spoofing of our modern need for all mystery to be explained to us "We had no answer... until now". Ha!
Apparently this prequel trailer for Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds is a year old. But I'm just seeing it now thanks to @mattriviera and @mattzollerseitz so it's new to @me... and a delightful start to my morning it was, too. Good morning!
*
Showing posts with label Hitchcock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hitchcock. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
15 Directors Who Shaped My Movie Love
So there's this meme going around that Paolo tagged me with. So why not? The idea is that you list 15 directors, mainly off of the top of your head, that contributed to the way you experience and think about the movies. This is not a list of my all time favorites though half of the list would probably overlap. This is the list I come up with when I think briefly on the formative masterminds and/or the ones that have or had some sort of claim on my soul if you will. Three of them I could definitely live without at this point but I'm trying to be honest about the exercize.
So here goes in no particular order...
ROBERT WISE (1914-2005)
When I was a kid West Side Story and The Sound of Music were the most Epically ! Epic !!! movies to me. At the time I didn't quite grasp the auteur theory but at some point I became aware that this guy had made both so therefore "He must be the best director of all time!" Later I discovered that he wasn't but I still think he's a stronger talent than he gets credit for being nowadays.
first encounters: The Sound of Music and West Side Story (on television)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK (1899-1980)
As I said in my Rope retro, he's training wheels for any young budding film buff who is curious about The Man Behind the Curtain (Hitch or otherwise).
first encounter: North By Northwest (I think I saw it here, the place I saw many old movies for the first time. My parents didn't know what a monster they were creating by taking me there regularly.)
WOODY ALLEN (1935-)
For the same reason as Hitchcock really; it's impossible to think you're watching anyone else's film. Woody was the first director I "followed", eagerly anticipating and attending each movie as soon as I could. As a result, he'll always have a place in my heart.
first encounters: Broadway Danny Rose (in theaters... my older brother's idea), The Purple Rose of Cairo (in theaters, my idea)
WILLIAM WYLER (1902-1981)
The auteur theory isn't everything. This man understood dramatic storytelling and didn't dumb it down but made accessible all the nuances and fine points. Plus he could wring top notch work from all kinds of actors. His resume is deservedly overstuffed-with-classics. Just last month while watching The Best Years of Our Lives I even dreamed of watching all of his movies chronologically in a row for a blog project. I bet it would be an awesome journey.
first encounters: Ben Hur (revival house) and Wuthering Heights (VHS)
STEVEN SPIELBERG (1946-)
Because everyone loves him and therefore he was ubiquitous when I was growing up and still is to a degree. There was no question that he was shaping Hollywood and more than one moviegoing generation. I never felt personally attached but he was always present in the movie menu.
first encounters: Raiders of the Lost Arc & E.T. (in theaters)... the latter is the only movie I can ever remember seeing with my Grandma *sniffle*
JAMES CAMERON (1954-)
Because I seriously wish he was mandatory study/viewing for anyone assigned to direct a mainstream action film. He's never created an action sequence that was boring or difficult to follow (few others can say the same) and even if the dialogue is and was a bit clunky, his films are such masterful pop(corn). Plus, like all the greatest directors, he doesn't ignore female characters but makes them crucial players.
first encounters: The Terminator (cable), Aliens (in theaters... one of the very first R rated movies I ever saw in theaters. Ooohh.)
PEDRO ALMODÓVAR (1949-)
Truth: I look forward to no one else's movies more. Pedro always gives audiences something for the heart, the brain, the eyes and the groin and rare is the filmmaker who understands to provide us with all four pleasures in each and every film.
first encounters: Women on the Verge... (in theaters), Law of Desire (VHS)
RIDLEY SCOTT (1937-)
Because he made two movies that I remain deeply in the thrall of (Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise) and kicked off one franchise I obsessed over regularly for a good long while (Alien). And he helped inform my love of Art Direction within movies. All that but I could never work up much enthusiasm for anything in between or after those three peaks which just goes to show you: even if you love someone's something, you never know how it's all gonna shake out in terms of fandom.
first encounters: Legend (in theaters), Blade Runner (I can't remember how I first saw this...? There's too many versions!)
TIM BURTON (1958-)
He started off so very strong and stylized. Few things are as pleasureable as the weird and whimsical as long as they're genuinely felt and not manufactured. Unfortunately... no, no, let's not go there! I can't deal.
first encounters: Pee Wees Big Adventure (I think on cable?), Beetlejuice (in theaters)
DOUGLAS SIRK (1900-1987)
Because he influenced so many directors I love but I came to him after his ancestors which is like a glorious reminder that there's always more to experience from the past. When you sift through cinematic history you might even love someone so much that you wish you could jump in a time machine and shake the person's hand or give them a million kisses or a bear hug or promise them your first born child, depending on how they react to you arriving in the time machine in the first place. Maybe you should just send a thank you note in the machine.
first encounters: Lured and All That Heaven Allows (on DVD)
DAVID LYNCH (1946-)
Because he's a true original and yet his highly personal films resonate with so many people. It's like he was practicing Inception long before Nolan ever thought it up; his dreams and nightmares became ours. Plus, he made me believe in television as a powerful artistic medium in its own right and for its own reasons and not just the cinema's poor uglier relation.
first encounters: Dune (in theaters) and Twin Peaks (television)
JANE CAMPION (1954-)
Because there were so few female directors when she rose up but it was no kind of affirmative action enthusiasm -- she could have been a genderless space alien and would have still completely vaulted to the top of Directors Whose Movies You Must Watch!
first encounters: The Piano (in theaters), Peel (on VHS)
INGMAR BERGMAN (1918-2007)
It's not only that he made deeply great movies. I am fascinated that he ever existed at all... or rather, he has come to represent a myth / reality that I did not experience firsthand but am always fascinated to think on: the 1960s and 1970s and how adventurous movie fans once were. (See also: Federico Fellini.)
first encounters: Cries and Whispers and Persona (VHS)
ROBERT ALTMAN (1925-2006)
Movies should be crowded with true character... and characters. And they should be alive with possibilities as if the camera could follow anyone offstage and there would be a whole new movie waiting, tantalizingly out of reach.
first encounters: Fool For Love (VHS), The Player (in theaters)
TODD HAYNES (1961-)
Because he keeps growing and therefore keeps us guessing. And because his one of his pet themes, the fluidity of identity, is among the most cinematic of themes.
first encounters: [Safe] (VHS), Velvet Goldmine (in theaters)
If you ask me who are the "best" or my "favorite" directors the list would have to change at least by a third, maybe even a half. But that would require more careful consideration. If you ask me who from the past I'd like to resurrect to make one last motion picture the list would look crazy different. But that might be a fun list to make some time. Hmmmm.
I don't know who to tag since this meme has been going around for some time now. So I say YOU in the comment section: which 15 directors shaped your ideas about the movies in your formative film years.
 |
| Wise with Wood ~ West Side Story |
ROBERT WISE (1914-2005)
When I was a kid West Side Story and The Sound of Music were the most Epically ! Epic !!! movies to me. At the time I didn't quite grasp the auteur theory but at some point I became aware that this guy had made both so therefore "He must be the best director of all time!" Later I discovered that he wasn't but I still think he's a stronger talent than he gets credit for being nowadays.
first encounters: The Sound of Music and West Side Story (on television)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK (1899-1980)
As I said in my Rope retro, he's training wheels for any young budding film buff who is curious about The Man Behind the Curtain (Hitch or otherwise).
first encounter: North By Northwest (I think I saw it here, the place I saw many old movies for the first time. My parents didn't know what a monster they were creating by taking me there regularly.)
WOODY ALLEN (1935-)
For the same reason as Hitchcock really; it's impossible to think you're watching anyone else's film. Woody was the first director I "followed", eagerly anticipating and attending each movie as soon as I could. As a result, he'll always have a place in my heart.
first encounters: Broadway Danny Rose (in theaters... my older brother's idea), The Purple Rose of Cairo (in theaters, my idea)
 |
| Wyler meeting Charlton Heston's son. |
The auteur theory isn't everything. This man understood dramatic storytelling and didn't dumb it down but made accessible all the nuances and fine points. Plus he could wring top notch work from all kinds of actors. His resume is deservedly overstuffed-with-classics. Just last month while watching The Best Years of Our Lives I even dreamed of watching all of his movies chronologically in a row for a blog project. I bet it would be an awesome journey.
first encounters: Ben Hur (revival house) and Wuthering Heights (VHS)
STEVEN SPIELBERG (1946-)
Because everyone loves him and therefore he was ubiquitous when I was growing up and still is to a degree. There was no question that he was shaping Hollywood and more than one moviegoing generation. I never felt personally attached but he was always present in the movie menu.
first encounters: Raiders of the Lost Arc & E.T. (in theaters)... the latter is the only movie I can ever remember seeing with my Grandma *sniffle*
JAMES CAMERON (1954-)
Because I seriously wish he was mandatory study/viewing for anyone assigned to direct a mainstream action film. He's never created an action sequence that was boring or difficult to follow (few others can say the same) and even if the dialogue is and was a bit clunky, his films are such masterful pop(corn). Plus, like all the greatest directors, he doesn't ignore female characters but makes them crucial players.
first encounters: The Terminator (cable), Aliens (in theaters... one of the very first R rated movies I ever saw in theaters. Ooohh.)
 |
| Pedro and His Muses celebrate All About My Mother's Oscar win |
Truth: I look forward to no one else's movies more. Pedro always gives audiences something for the heart, the brain, the eyes and the groin and rare is the filmmaker who understands to provide us with all four pleasures in each and every film.
first encounters: Women on the Verge... (in theaters), Law of Desire (VHS)
 |
| Ridley with Veronica Cartwright on the Nostromo in Alien (1979) |
Because he made two movies that I remain deeply in the thrall of (Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise) and kicked off one franchise I obsessed over regularly for a good long while (Alien). And he helped inform my love of Art Direction within movies. All that but I could never work up much enthusiasm for anything in between or after those three peaks which just goes to show you: even if you love someone's something, you never know how it's all gonna shake out in terms of fandom.
first encounters: Legend (in theaters), Blade Runner (I can't remember how I first saw this...? There's too many versions!)
TIM BURTON (1958-)
He started off so very strong and stylized. Few things are as pleasureable as the weird and whimsical as long as they're genuinely felt and not manufactured. Unfortunately... no, no, let's not go there! I can't deal.
first encounters: Pee Wees Big Adventure (I think on cable?), Beetlejuice (in theaters)
 |
| Sirk with Dorothy Malone on the set of Written on the Wind (1956) Why is she reading My Antonia? |
DOUGLAS SIRK (1900-1987)
Because he influenced so many directors I love but I came to him after his ancestors which is like a glorious reminder that there's always more to experience from the past. When you sift through cinematic history you might even love someone so much that you wish you could jump in a time machine and shake the person's hand or give them a million kisses or a bear hug or promise them your first born child, depending on how they react to you arriving in the time machine in the first place. Maybe you should just send a thank you note in the machine.
first encounters: Lured and All That Heaven Allows (on DVD)
DAVID LYNCH (1946-)
Because he's a true original and yet his highly personal films resonate with so many people. It's like he was practicing Inception long before Nolan ever thought it up; his dreams and nightmares became ours. Plus, he made me believe in television as a powerful artistic medium in its own right and for its own reasons and not just the cinema's poor uglier relation.
first encounters: Dune (in theaters) and Twin Peaks (television)
 |
| Campion's Bright Stars |
Because there were so few female directors when she rose up but it was no kind of affirmative action enthusiasm -- she could have been a genderless space alien and would have still completely vaulted to the top of Directors Whose Movies You Must Watch!
first encounters: The Piano (in theaters), Peel (on VHS)
INGMAR BERGMAN (1918-2007)
It's not only that he made deeply great movies. I am fascinated that he ever existed at all... or rather, he has come to represent a myth / reality that I did not experience firsthand but am always fascinated to think on: the 1960s and 1970s and how adventurous movie fans once were. (See also: Federico Fellini.)
first encounters: Cries and Whispers and Persona (VHS)
ROBERT ALTMAN (1925-2006)
Movies should be crowded with true character... and characters. And they should be alive with possibilities as if the camera could follow anyone offstage and there would be a whole new movie waiting, tantalizingly out of reach.
first encounters: Fool For Love (VHS), The Player (in theaters)
 |
| Bale & Haynes hit a Goldmine! |
Because he keeps growing and therefore keeps us guessing. And because his one of his pet themes, the fluidity of identity, is among the most cinematic of themes.
first encounters: [Safe] (VHS), Velvet Goldmine (in theaters)
If you ask me who are the "best" or my "favorite" directors the list would have to change at least by a third, maybe even a half. But that would require more careful consideration. If you ask me who from the past I'd like to resurrect to make one last motion picture the list would look crazy different. But that might be a fun list to make some time. Hmmmm.
I don't know who to tag since this meme has been going around for some time now. So I say YOU in the comment section: which 15 directors shaped your ideas about the movies in your formative film years.
Friday, October 1, 2010
A History of... Julie Andrews
To celebrate the 75th birthday of the great Julie Andrews, our favorite singing governness, our favorite magical nanny, our favorite gender bending toast of Paris. Something big was in order. Why, she's practically perfect in every way... so in her honor, a resurrection of a long dormant exhaustively researched 100% true* series that was once the Film Experience's most popular feature.
1935 Julia Wells is born to Mrs. Barbara Wells in Surrey, England. Mr. Wells is not the father. Scandal! This bastard child will one day become the icon of squeaky clean family entertainment. She won't always enjoy it. At her christening the good fairy Fauna grants her the gift of song
1940 Having already recognized the fairy's generous gift, non biological daddy Ted Wells sends Julia to live with mom's new man Ted Andrews (also not her biological father --- so confusing!) who is better equipped to give her the musical education she needs.
1947 Julia -- now "Julie Andrews" -- makes her professional debut at the London Hippodrome singing the aria "Je Suis Titania" (i.e. 'I am Titania' -referencing the Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Nights Dream, no doubt an homage to generous Fauna) from the opera Mignon. She blows the roof off the place.
1951 Does not prick her finger and fall into an unnatural slumber but is, by now at 16, a British star of stage and radio. Waits impatiently, but sweetly, forlove's first kiss total world domination.
1954 Start at the top: Debuts on the American stage on Broadway in the lead role of The Boyfriend.
1956 Wouldn't it be loverly if she originated the plum role of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and concurrently became a superstar with the live television airing of the musical Cinderella? Statistics vary but her numbers are basically up their with the explosion of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and the final episode of M*A*S*H. We're talking everyone... or roughly 10 times the numbers that even the biggest "event" nowadays.
1959 Love's first kiss: Marries set designer Tony Walton who she met on the stage in London many years prior whilst playing the Egg in Humpty-Dumpty.
1960 Her eggs produce first child, Emma. Also creates the original Guinevere in the smash hit Broadway musical Camelot.
1962/1963 Julie, already a household name in America, is passed over for the movie version of the role she created in My Fair Lady because Jack Warner, in a typically lazy movie industry move (that we still see every day in 2010) only wants someone "bankable." Never mind that her first two movies become enormous "all time" blockbusters, each outgrossing My Fair Lady (which was also a hit with "bankable" Audrey Hepburn). Nobody can see into the future and most people aren't willing to risk casting based on rightness for a role... even though anyone in the right role at the time can become bankable as Mary Poppins will soon prove.
1964 Kill Audrey, Vol 1: Julie's movie debut Mary Poppins outgrosses My Fair Lady. So much for not bankable. She also stars in the acclaimed adult-oriented drama The Americanization of Emily, a film which she reportedly loves, though few notice in the enormous wake of that flying nanny.
1965 Kill Audrey Vol. 2: Julie wins the Oscar, besting Audrey Hepburn (who actually wasn't nominated but this isn't the way history remembers it. Shut up!).
As follow up, Julie spins around on a mountain top; billions of people all over the world get dizzy, and thousands of fairies are born. The Sound of Music outgrosses every movie that's ever existed including Gone With the Wind (if you don't adjust for inflation).
After defeating Audrey Hepburn, Julie targets Vivien Leigh. 'You can make one dress out of curtains? Amateur!'
1966 Hitchcock, having worn on Tippi Hedren's last nerve, has to find a replacement blonde. He tries Julie out for Torn Curtain. Outcome: Not icy and anonymous enough for Hitch. They never work together again. The film is a big hit. So is Hawaii that same year. Even outside of musicals Julie is beyond bankable.
1967 Julie stars as wannabe flapper Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie. People remember it today as a misfire or flop but sorry: another huge hit, the biggest in Universal's history up till then. Julie + musicals = box office gold.
1968 Except when it don't. Oops. Star, a bloated biopic of Gertrude Lawrence becomes her first failure. Julie divorces Tony Walton and...
1969 ...marries Blake Edwards after filming Darling Lili (1970) for the director with Rock Hudson.
1970s After five years on the mountain top of global stardom, Julie bows out of the movies, making only two more films over the decade. She has two more children and then adopts two more still. She makes multiple television appearances.
1981 Blake convinces his wife to bare her breasts, which he had undoubtedly seen thousands of times already but he's a sharer. Her boob flash in S.O.B totally scandalizes Mary Poppins fans and my parents (also Mary Poppins fans). I remember the fallout vividly from my youth. They were furious.
1982 Despite her "betrayal" of squeaky clean loving fans, Hollywood and pop culture reembrace the icon when Victor/Victoria hits. Her multi-octave slide in "Le Jazz Hot" shatters glass and thousands more fairies are born. Julie is nominated for another Oscar for her woman-pretending-to- be-a-man-pretending- to-be-a-woman nightclub act wherein she falls in love with gangster King Marchand (James Garner again) or "Fairy Marchand" as his arm-candy girlfriend rechristens him in a jealous rage.
1983 Julie Andrews loses the Oscar to Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice as would anyone from any year in any film under any circumstance.
rest of the 1980s makes a few more movies with Blake Edwards but nothing ascends. Bares her breasts again opposite Rupert Everett in Duet For One (1986) but few notice. You only get a shock from that once.
1990s-1999 returns to Broadway, eventually revives Victor/Victoria in new form, refuses a Tony nomination for their "egregious" snubbing of her fellow cast members. Vocal problems begin. Undergoes surgery for throat nodules and something goes wrong and she is unable to sing again. A special new circle of hell is created for whomever is to blame though...
2000 ...here on earth the matter is settled in a malpractice lawsuit. Julie's Just Rewards: She becomes "Dame" Julie Andrews by order of the Queen.
2001 Speaking of Queens... The Princess Diaries opens, surprising virtually everyone by becoming a smash with non-bankable Anne Hathaway in the leading role of the Princess and non-singing no-longer bankable Julie as the Queen of Genovia. The hit film will win her a new generation of young fans and set in motion a new career in children's films, albeit usually just as voice work. As in...
2010 Despicable Me wherein Julie Andrews plays the disapproving mother of super villain Gru. On October 1st, Julie Andrews celebrates her 75th birthday.
Here's to her next quarter century as one of the great entertainers of all time!
*or truthy, same diff.
1935 Julia Wells is born to Mrs. Barbara Wells in Surrey, England. Mr. Wells is not the father. Scandal! This bastard child will one day become the icon of squeaky clean family entertainment. She won't always enjoy it. At her christening the good fairy Fauna grants her the gift of song
(We figure that's the only way you get a voice that lovely.)One gift, the gift of song,
Melody your whole life long!
The nightingale her troubadour,
Bringing his sweet serenade to her door.
1940 Having already recognized the fairy's generous gift, non biological daddy Ted Wells sends Julia to live with mom's new man Ted Andrews (also not her biological father --- so confusing!) who is better equipped to give her the musical education she needs.
1951 Does not prick her finger and fall into an unnatural slumber but is, by now at 16, a British star of stage and radio. Waits impatiently, but sweetly, for
1954 Start at the top: Debuts on the American stage on Broadway in the lead role of The Boyfriend.
1959 Love's first kiss: Marries set designer Tony Walton who she met on the stage in London many years prior whilst playing the Egg in Humpty-Dumpty.
1960 Her eggs produce first child, Emma. Also creates the original Guinevere in the smash hit Broadway musical Camelot.
1962/1963 Julie, already a household name in America, is passed over for the movie version of the role she created in My Fair Lady because Jack Warner, in a typically lazy movie industry move (that we still see every day in 2010) only wants someone "bankable." Never mind that her first two movies become enormous "all time" blockbusters, each outgrossing My Fair Lady (which was also a hit with "bankable" Audrey Hepburn). Nobody can see into the future and most people aren't willing to risk casting based on rightness for a role... even though anyone in the right role at the time can become bankable as Mary Poppins will soon prove.
1965 Kill Audrey Vol. 2: Julie wins the Oscar, besting Audrey Hepburn (who actually wasn't nominated but this isn't the way history remembers it. Shut up!).
As follow up, Julie spins around on a mountain top; billions of people all over the world get dizzy, and thousands of fairies are born. The Sound of Music outgrosses every movie that's ever existed including Gone With the Wind (if you don't adjust for inflation).
After defeating Audrey Hepburn, Julie targets Vivien Leigh. 'You can make one dress out of curtains? Amateur!'
Von Trapp play-clothes
1966 Hitchcock, having worn on Tippi Hedren's last nerve, has to find a replacement blonde. He tries Julie out for Torn Curtain. Outcome: Not icy and anonymous enough for Hitch. They never work together again. The film is a big hit. So is Hawaii that same year. Even outside of musicals Julie is beyond bankable.
1968 Except when it don't. Oops. Star, a bloated biopic of Gertrude Lawrence becomes her first failure. Julie divorces Tony Walton and...
1969 ...marries Blake Edwards after filming Darling Lili (1970) for the director with Rock Hudson.
1970s After five years on the mountain top of global stardom, Julie bows out of the movies, making only two more films over the decade. She has two more children and then adopts two more still. She makes multiple television appearances.
1982 Despite her "betrayal" of squeaky clean loving fans, Hollywood and pop culture reembrace the icon when Victor/Victoria hits. Her multi-octave slide in "Le Jazz Hot" shatters glass and thousands more fairies are born. Julie is nominated for another Oscar for her woman-pretending-to- be-a-man-pretending- to-be-a-woman nightclub act wherein she falls in love with gangster King Marchand (James Garner again) or "Fairy Marchand" as his arm-candy girlfriend rechristens him in a jealous rage.
1983 Julie Andrews loses the Oscar to Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice as would anyone from any year in any film under any circumstance.
rest of the 1980s makes a few more movies with Blake Edwards but nothing ascends. Bares her breasts again opposite Rupert Everett in Duet For One (1986) but few notice. You only get a shock from that once.
1990s-1999 returns to Broadway, eventually revives Victor/Victoria in new form, refuses a Tony nomination for their "egregious" snubbing of her fellow cast members. Vocal problems begin. Undergoes surgery for throat nodules and something goes wrong and she is unable to sing again. A special new circle of hell is created for whomever is to blame though...
2000 ...here on earth the matter is settled in a malpractice lawsuit. Julie's Just Rewards: She becomes "Dame" Julie Andrews by order of the Queen.
2010 Despicable Me wherein Julie Andrews plays the disapproving mother of super villain Gru. On October 1st, Julie Andrews celebrates her 75th birthday.
Here's to her next quarter century as one of the great entertainers of all time!
*or truthy, same diff.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Pandora's Link and JGL's Bad Romance
Due to the long holiday weekend which put me behind and a busy screening week, I've decided to postpone this week's HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT. The series will be back next Wednesday the 15th with Pandora's Box (1929) so you have another week to watch this awesome silent classic whether on DVD or Netflix Instant Watch. Thanks for understanding and please join in the celebration of the immortal Louise Brooks next Wednesday. On Wednesday the 22nd we'll do David Fincher's Se7en (1995) for its 15th anniversary. Honestly, it's the movie I was thinking of picking -- it'd been on my mind and I had an itch to scratch with it -- and then I looked up the release date and couldn't believe my eyes. Obvs, It was meant to be.Links!
The Big Picture George Clooney's box office pull and the fate of The American.
/Film interviews Aron Ralston. James Franco plays him in 127 Hours.
Cinematical strange stories surfacing from 127 Hours screenings. Medics called in.
MTV Movies Mulan is getting a live action version with Zhang Ziyi returning to action heroine mode. Jan De Bont (Speed) will direct. This message has been brought to you by the year 2000.
Lazy Eye Theater an important message from Machete.
Movie|Line The Verge: Keir Gilchrist. I like this regular feature at Movie|Line.
Mind of a Suspicious Kind would like you to reconsider Megan Fox... as a silent film star.
CHUD Natalie Portman offered the Gravity lead. So much for our casting suggestions last week. I like Portman quite a lot but every actor has their weaknesses and so far she hasn't shown any skill at acting with green screens. Can Cuarón take her to where she needs to go?
Movie City News a cool press kit for Never Let Me Go. Uhhhh, I didn't get this. Boo.
Rooney Mara Network They're already filming The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? David Fincher is breaking speed records he is. Perhaps he's hurrying to complete filming before the awards season long haul for The Social Network.
And finally here's another Joseph Gordon-Levitt performance. He does love singing the girl songs. This time it's "Bad Romance"
This is my favorite part OF COURSE
For those still doubting the artistic integrity of Lady Gaga, this next verse has three Hitchcock references and the use of the word "shtick"Heh.
*
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Curio: Ingrid Bergman, 1945 Cover Girl
Alexa here. I was inspired by Jose's post on birthday girl Ingrid Bergman to share this vintage Motion Picture magazine of mine from 1945. Ingrid graces the cover, promoting her latest effort in Spellbound, just shy of her 30th birthday.The interview inside, from the set of Alfred Hitchcock's film, was written in breathless prose by "famous movie reporter" Sidney Skolsky. (A little trivia: Sidney coined the name "Oscar" for the Academy Award.) Here are some gems from his piece:
Ingrid Bergman, on the screen, looks like what an actress should look like. Even more so than the Turners, the Grables, the Fayes. Yet, in everyday life, it is common knowledge that many, even fans, pass her by without recognizing her. She uses almost no makeup at all, except a little lipstick and a slight dab of powder.
She will do practically anything to cooperate except pose for cheesecake art. She says, "I'm not a dancer."
She doesn't care for sweetness and light in her roles and she has an innate dread of being typed. She was happy that Lana Turner played the role of the sophisticated lady-like wife in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, while she played the role of the bad woman.
She likes the popular music of the juke-box variety and even made a special trip to a club to listen to Frank Sinatra. She likes Frankie-boy but still prefers Crosby. She loves to chew gum.
She is a person who sweetly and quietly gets her way. She will not play the role of Sarah Bernhardt.
She is ticklish in the ticklish places.
She is a forthright person and doesn't behave like an actress. One day at the studio she hooked bumpers with another car. A studio policeman found her tugging and heaving at them with all her might. She practically had the cars untangled before he could get to her. "Darndest thing I ever saw," the studio policeman said. "First film star I ever knew that didn't mind getting her hands dirty, or didn't cuss out the other fellow for leaving his car in the way."
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Robert F Boyle (RIP), Designed Many Classics
Sad news to report. Robert F Boyle, a four time Oscar nominee for Art Direction and Alfred Hitchcock's Production Designer during the Tippi Hedren years, passed away on Sunday at 100 years of age. He nearly made it to 101.
Here he is at the February 2008 Oscars with Nicole Kidman when he was 98.
When I published the list of Oldest Living Oscar Nominees last month, I didn't mean it as a morbid countdown, but as a tribute to these enduring artists and I hope it reads that way, even as they depart. We all must pass on eventually. Boyle had been the oldest of them all. May Luise Rainier, now the oldest at 100, live as long as Methusaleh.
Among Doyle's credits are classics like North by Northwest (Oscar nomination), Fiddler on the Roof (Oscar nomination), In Cold Blood, The Thomas Crown Affair and Cape Fear (the originals). In the last ten years of his career (roughly the 1980s) he mainly worked on female star comedy vehicles like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Troop Beverly Hills and Private Benjamin.
Clockwise from left: North by Northwest, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Cape Fear and Fiddler on the Roof
Clockwise from top left: The Thomas Crown Affair, The Birds, Marnie, and Staying Alive
He had a long and rich career. May we all find such great use of our talents.
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Here he is at the February 2008 Oscars with Nicole Kidman when he was 98.
When I published the list of Oldest Living Oscar Nominees last month, I didn't mean it as a morbid countdown, but as a tribute to these enduring artists and I hope it reads that way, even as they depart. We all must pass on eventually. Boyle had been the oldest of them all. May Luise Rainier, now the oldest at 100, live as long as Methusaleh.
Among Doyle's credits are classics like North by Northwest (Oscar nomination), Fiddler on the Roof (Oscar nomination), In Cold Blood, The Thomas Crown Affair and Cape Fear (the originals). In the last ten years of his career (roughly the 1980s) he mainly worked on female star comedy vehicles like The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Troop Beverly Hills and Private Benjamin.
Clockwise from left: North by Northwest, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Cape Fear and Fiddler on the Roof
Clockwise from top left: The Thomas Crown Affair, The Birds, Marnie, and Staying AliveHe had a long and rich career. May we all find such great use of our talents.
*
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Linkfish
Before we get to the links, two things.- 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.
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 Soon The 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.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Curio: Movie Vinyl
Alexa from Pop Elegantiarum here. I was fascinated by this article in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks back on the collaboration between Barnard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock. Little did I know that Hitchcock originally wanted the shower scene in Psycho to be silent, and that he may have had some insecurities about how much his style relied on Herrmann's music. Certainly there have been many attempts at duplicating that synergy (Brian De Palma used Herrmann at his most Hitchcockian; M Night Shyamalan and James Newton Howard try hard for something similar). So when I spotted this LP of the soundtrack to North by Northwest, I had to snap it up.
Shawn at Movie Vinyl sells lots of great vintage soundtracks for you vinyl junkies like me. Here are a few other choice ones. As soon as he finds a rare Bugsy Malone LP, I'm ordering it.
Shawn at Movie Vinyl sells lots of great vintage soundtracks for you vinyl junkies like me. Here are a few other choice ones. As soon as he finds a rare Bugsy Malone LP, I'm ordering it.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Curio: Artful Directors
Alexa here with some art therapy. Lately I've been spying all kinds of great original art with directors as a subject. I love to see if there's any intersection between the artists' individual styles and that of their subjects. Here's a small gallery for your viewing pleasure.
Finally, I just had to update my coaster post from the holidays to mention that Kelly Puissegur has added more directors to her coaster series (including Tim, Francis, Roman, and Sofia)! Check them all out at her shop.
Print available for purchase here.
A very Quentin-esque Quentin, by David Hildreth.
Poster available at his shop.
Burton à la Pollock?
Print available from The Boring Blue Boy.
Woody in his natural habitat.
Buy the print at Mulford Arts.
A very Quentin-esque Quentin, by David Hildreth. Poster available at his shop.
Burton à la Pollock?Print available from The Boring Blue Boy.
Woody in his natural habitat. Buy the print at Mulford Arts.
Finally, I just had to update my coaster post from the holidays to mention that Kelly Puissegur has added more directors to her coaster series (including Tim, Francis, Roman, and Sofia)! Check them all out at her shop.
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