The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
Team Experience has been sharing their favorite Christmas flicks. Here's new contributor Jorge on a Burton special...
Edward Scissorhands, at first sight,not the most Christmassy movie. It is not an iteration of a Charles Dickens’ novella, there are no Santa Clauses, and no one is chasing anyone through a snowed-in airport. Falling snow is a big motif throughout, but only the last third takes places during that time of year.
But it beautifully captures the sentiment of Christmas in the most important sense...
must read "Want to work in Hollywood? Only straight, white men need apply?" this new study from USC is getting a lot of attention and it is pretty damning evidence all told. (How did diversity issues get so much worse instead of better? - It boggles the mind.) That study is just for films but TV is doing a lot better. On that note it looks like we lost Lee Daniels to TV for good (*sniffle... no more Paperboy or Precious). In addition to "Empire" Season 2 he's developing a girl-band series called "Star". NYT also looked at the diversity gap on the bigscreen from that study and Dana Delany tweeted in response underlining why she doesn't do film anymore.
The migration of actors (particularly female) and creatives to television has been well documented. I can only blame moviegoers at this point. They just only seem willing to look at "adult" and female stuff on television and save their ticket dollars for fx films
links Variety Todd Haynes to get a tribute at this year's Gotham Awards Empire remember when Lasse Hallström was a big deal? His breakthrough was MyLife as a Dog (not a literal title) and now he'll be directing a movie called A Dog's Purpose which is actually about a dog, a reincarnated dog who helps various owners in his lives imgur a native of Florida photographs Edward Scissorhands locations 25 years later. The foilage sure grew and the colors sure are drabber now Interview republishes an archival interview with Warren Beatty from 1972 as we await anything on his long-gestating Howard Hughes biopic MSZ "Unloved" series looks at Peyton Reed's Down With Love and The Break-Up Filmmaker Magazine talks to Randal Kleiser about Summer Lovers, an 80s guilty pleasure starring Daryl Hannah and Peter Gallagher. Indie Outlook compares American Sniper and Selma to find the structure of "Oscar Bait". It's interesting but I wholly disagree on the notion that Selma's focus on the mechanicas of civil disobedience makes it dry and unsatisfying. I think that's exactly what makes it so good and so much more worthwhile than a simple "great man" biopic would have been. Love that movie. This Is Not Porn Jessica Lange on the set of King Kong (1976). Hee
spandex city CW Seed This is actually cool. CW, which had a major hit with their fun and well-crafted Flash series is now streaming the original Flash television series from 1990 - I had forgotten that existed even! Comic Alliance "why I'm boycotting Marvel Comics" more on Marvel's very real diversity problem Htxt.Africa talks Star Wars and The Jungle Book from a Disney Africa presentation. Also says Doctor Strange looks "horror-movie-dark"
for London readers FacebookDesperately Seeking Susan is getting a 30th anniversary screening at the Prince Charles Cinema
the Leftovers
Oooh, here's the Season 2 trailer to HBO's "The Leftovers" which had so many good parts for ladies last season. This new season shakes things up a lot so we don't know quite what to expect.
free the bacon Kevin Bacon demands more male nudity in Hollywood
Alexa here. If you've taken a figure drawing class you're likely familiar with articulated wood mannequins (Manny to some). I was lucky enough to spend most of my art school figure drawing classes with real human models, but occasionally as a cost-saving measure we'd have to draw from good 'ol Manny. After awhile I wanted to burn him. Maybe that's why I enjoy the use he's been put to by Pucherito, who has transformed Manny into some cultural idols with a little paint and inspiration.
Here are some film favorites given the Pucherito treatment, with the resulting effect of elongating the likes of Woody, Sly and Liza into the same gangly proportions.
Real life has this horrible way of intruding on fantasy. Though I'd much rather be spending exorbitant amounts of time with Avon lady Dianne, Gepetto-esque Vincent, dancing Winona, and Johnny's first truly brilliant performance in my favorite Tim film (I feel so close to this movie I'm totally on a first name basis with it) I couldn't work it out tonight. My post will be up on... Friday evening. Yes, let's go with that. But until then there's plenty of Edward Scissorhands love from these fine blogs joining in the Hit Me With Your Best Shot spirit. Go and read them!
I really suggest you do. My favorite thing about this series is reading the other pieces and learning from them. Films are communal but we all see them through different eyes.
Sometimes you can still catch them dancing in it... Antagony & Ecstasy - on the ideal metaphor for Burton's aesthetic. Being Norma Jean - "I'm not finished" wonderful look at Edward's hands and how they precede him. Cinesnatch -loves Dianne Wiest and Burton's use of Vincent Price. Film Actually - "Isn't it wild?" The Film's The Thing -cynical adulthood / childlike wonder Missemamm - when that suburban costume isn't working for you anymore Paraphrased Kulchar - let it be known that Kathy Baker is a hot bitch
Movie|Line "what the box office skeptics are missing about Super 8"? In Contention does not like Super 8. "Super h8ted it" Uh oh. Just Jared Dakota Fanning's High School Graduation. Congrats Dakota! Mister Hipp "sometimes you can still catch me dancing in it" - just lovely. Still my favorite Tim Burton film. Kenneth in the (212)Thelma & Louise, 20 years later (in Toronto.) Awwww I ♥. Sadly, Brad Pitt was not there. Tom Shone loves Melanie Laurent in Beginners. As do I. The Critical Condition has a really interesting question/thought about Marion Cotillard in Midnight in Paris. NOTE: Don't read it until after you've seen the movie! Splash Page talks to Chris Evans about working on The Avengers.
X-Men "Born This Way" Parody.
Teehee. Fun lyrics although some may quibble about Magneto not being... that other way.
Finally, Scott Feinberg shares the nominees for the 1st annual BTJA "Critics Choice" Awards. Mad Men cleans up but the interesting part is the Emmy-diversion details: Glee is nominated but Jane Lynch is the only cast member with a nomination; they're absolutely nuts for all AMC shows; and Southland got a nomination for Shawn Hatosy (yes!) but not for Regina King (boo!). If you watch Southland you'll know that Hatosy's role got crazy intense this past season as his screen partner Kevin Alejandro was killed (so that he could sex up Lafayette on True Blood... or was that a post-job-loss career get?) and Hatosy's character broke down hard. But the MVP of this show is still Regina King. Go Regina!