Link Roundup (and Lint Roundup From Navel Gazing.)

Towleroad. Jodie Foster has limits. Michael Fassbender doesn't. Bradley Cooper stars in Limitless.
I Need My Fix clips and poster for Jodie Foster / Mel Gibson film The Beaver.

Also do you like this Midnight in Paris Vincent Van Gogh lift painting? I can't type Vincent Van Gogh in connection with a Woody Allen movie without thinking of Manhattan's "Hall of the Overrated"

Yahoo Answers "Who danced worse? Elaine on Seinfeld or Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface?" LOL
Us Weekly Lea Michele kissing on Ashton Kutcher in New Year's Eve.
The News Gazette has very uplifting info about the Ebert Fest Lineup. I don't really worship him in the way most movie-obsessives do but Roger Ebert is really a very cool person

Finally,  E! Online posted a rather drooling "ohmygoditshappened!" in response to the filming of the Armie Hammer / Leonardo DiCaprio smooch in J. Edgar. This is worth reading just for the annoying reminder (in the comments) that homophobia is still alive and well and still refuses to call itself "homophobia". It's just like all those stupid racists who always preface racist comments with "I'm not racist" People are so annoying! Ah well. Best to just keep on celebrating cool people instead. Who is cool? Who do you think has been worth cheering lately?

Sorry I'm in a terrible mood. This is one of the reasons Reader o' the Day has been fun. It's cheerful. And a sense of community is important. For reasons I've never fully grasped it's kind of a lone wolf site. The other movie sites and/or awards sites are constantly referencing each other like a tennis match but we're just off to the side doing our thing, day in and day out. Sometimes we'll do something brilliant and no one will notice and it's kind of a bummer. Other times we'll notice total press release regurgitations going truly viral from other sites and we're like 'why? There's no there there? It's just the press release!' This is not to diss other sites -- there are fine ones out there and every site be it great, good, mediocre or below average has its weaker days and its stronger ones (including this one) -- we just find it odd is all. And we're feeling contemplative. It's tough to do original content day in and day out (like The Hit Me With Your Best Shot feature for example) and have it go nowhere and sites that just do press releases and trailers and casting rumors all day are hugely popular. I was discussing this the other day with Glenn at Stale Popcorn, one of my personal favorite blogs. And it is frustrating for sites that try to have an original voice. Sometimes you feel like you're shouting into the abyss and you'd be better off just posting trailers and posters and quoting other blogs for all your posts.

Anyway... [/boring pity party]

My point is: I really appreciate the community The Film Experience has from you, the loyal readers. The ones who are here year 'round and not just when the Oscar noms and Oscar night happenings happen (always the two biggest days, traffic wise). Are you liking the Reader o' the Day feature? We're doing it for the rest of the month. Maybe it should be a weekly feature hereafter? We'll see.

Awards Brief
The Producer's Guild has announced their awards night date for this film year. It's January 21st, 2012. One date down... dozens more to go.

Link's Cutoff

Your Movie Buddy has already named a few "best of the year" posters (and it's only March!) including this absolute beaut for Meek's Cutoff to your left. Seriously. I like this poster better than the movie and I like the movie pretty well.
The Wrap has an open letter to David E Kelley about his new Wonder Woman series that doubles as a love letter to Joss Whedon. I think it's time the internet gave up that ghost as sad as it is to say farewell to.
Scene Stealers gives a fist up to Duncan Jones's Source Code with our Jake Gyllenhaal.
Slant also looks at the new scifi tinged thriller
Towleroad speaking of... some lame person at SXSW tried to snap a photo of Jakey doing his business in the bathroom. Uncool.
Critical Condition unburies 80s stinker Just One of the Guys and treats it like a hidden treasure.
Old Hollywood shares a great 70s quote from Peter Weir on Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975).
My New Plaid Pants Eeek. How did I miss this old Michael Fassbender commercial? So funny. And naked.

Finally, The Hairpin has curated an Netflix instant watch program called "Newman's Ownly" that sounds more delicious, soul-fattening, and spiritually satiating than any solo triple feature evening has any right to be

"'Hombre' means 'man'…and Paul Newman is 'Hombre'."

Should you partake in this orgy of celluloid Newmanliness, I only ask that you make it a double feature instead or replace Hud (1963) with another film somehow. Hud should be rented on DVD or simply bought on BluRay as it deserves better resolution than the generally good but still streamed "Instant Watch" can provide. It's one of those crispest and most perfect looking black and white films ever made, like it was carved from the purest cinematic marble by Michelangelo himself. There's one cold-eyed close-up of Newman that is so heart stopping I needed a defribulator to make it through the rest of the movie. Plus, Hud (1963) is one of the best movies of its entire decade so give it the space in your head that it deserves.

Before They Were Mutants

As much as we may lament the all superheroes all the time movie culture (variety is the key to life) this June offering, X-Men First Class, as you know, we're looking forward to. Blame X-fandom and (hopefully) strong casting. So here's McAvoy & Fassy as Professor X and Magn sorry as Charles and Erik.

The New Teaaer Posters

James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender both have movies coming out prior to this one though: McAvoy stars in The Conspirator (April 15th) about the Lincoln Assassination and Fassy stars in Jane Eyre (March 11th) with Mia Wasikowska so perhaps they'll own the spring/early summer.

Before they are mutants. they'll be...

Which incarnation of each of them are you most looking forward to? And which are you previous favorite incarnations?

Randomness: Xavier, Fassy, Pedro, Hathaway and "Best" Directors

My New Plaid Pants reminds us that Michael Fassbender and Steve McQueen are reuniting (YES) post Hunger for a movie called Shame, which is not a remake of the Ingmar Bergman flick but a contemporary drama about sex addiction. Carey Mulligan, who looks nothing like Fassy, is playing his sister. Filming now!

It just occurred to me that I've been calling The King's Speech "Royalty Porn" for months now. It has a whole new meaning now.

In Contention does some investigative journalism about that gay porn / King's Speech controversy we were just discussing last night. As for Guy's note that the porn was shot before production on The King's Speech began I have no idea what to think. I can only assume that the wall treatments discussed in the film experience interview were done to emphasize preexisting conditions -- Stewart didn't claim she made up the look, only that she was recreating it and layering it (perhaps to make it read better on film?). Not to get all serious about a very funny news story, but I do hope this doesn't overshadow Stewart's accomplishments. I mean, Christ, Topsy-Turvy. You know?

Less smutty links!
The Movies Were Wrong About Everything TRILOGY METER.
In Contention Kris Tapley's annual good (cinematography) read: top ten shots of the year. Love the inclusion of a sweet moment from Cairo Time as it's quite unexpected.
The House Next Door on writer/director/actor/wunderkind Xavier Dolan (Heartbeats, I Killed My Mother)
i09 interesting interview with Andrew Chambliss, a sci-fi television writer on what that particular grind is like.
The Wrap Costume Design Guild winners: The King's Speech (period), Black Swan (contemporary) and Alice in Wonderland (fantasy)
The AV Club ponders the age-old question: Can Natalie Portman act? I wish Nick's piece on Portman were done to be in conversation with this one.
OMGBLOG Natalie Portman cries a lot, a supercut.

Here's the latest Oscar Host in Training Videos. These are SO fun. This one features Anne Hathaway vs. the teleprompter.

Finally, EW releases a "25 Greatest Working Directors" list. To save you all the trouble of viewing 25 pages. The list goes like so:

1. David Fincher
2. Christopher Nolan
3. Steven Spielberg
4. Martin Scorsese
5. Darren Aronofsky
6. Joel & Ethan Coen
7. Quentin Tarantino
8. Terrence Malick
9. Clint Eastwood
10. Pedro Almodóvar
11. Paul Thomas Anderson
12. Guillermo Del Toro
13. Roman Polanski
14. Danny Boyle
15. Kathryn Bigelow
16. David O. Russell
17. David Lynch
18. James Cameron
19. Peter Jackson
20. Edgar Wright
21. Spike Lee
22. J.J. Abrams
23. Brad Bird
24. Mike Leigh
25. Wes Anderson

It's a curious lineup for sure. And it's absolutely bizarre to see Almodóvar below 9 other people but whatevs. He makes films that require US list-makers to read (GASP). Most of the obvious casualties (Weerathesakul, Haneke, Assayas, Audiard, Desplechin, Denis, etcetera) are wildly acclaimed filmmakers working outside the English language so it's kind of a miracle to see Pedro up so high even though he should be higher. Despite its curious choices, it's also just as expected since you can always tell when a list was made based on what's on it. And you can tell that this list was made within the past 5 or so months since 4 of the 5 current Best Director nominees and heat from the Oscars last year is also accounted for. I'm still chuckling about everyone suddenly claiming they've been a fan all along of Kathryn Bigelow last year. (I have been which is why I know people are lying through their teeth about their devotion! It was a lonely fandom.)

P.S. [UPDATED] Speaking of Almodovar though... People are getting excited for this new reportedly horrific film The Skin That I Inhabit which released this curiousity-inducing original teaser poster to the left and now this fan art has popped up which I'm sure it well intentioned (as fan art always is) but it makes the movie look a bit like a Saw knockoff.

And if there's one thing one could never say about Almodóvar, it's that he's not imitative. People steal from him. Not the other way around ;) [Thanks to Iggy for sharing the link]

P.P.S. Pajiba offers a compare and contrast list to EW's list 25 Most Profitable Directors and Awards Daily responds with a 50 They Forgot list.

Podcast: Oscar Switches, Summer Dreams

See?

We are trying to get weekly. We recorded the new podcast early this week (included at the end of this post) as today I knew I would be all wrapped up in a wedding. Well, attending one that is. But you know how time consuming they are. It was a lovely snowy Connecticut wedding and I'm just back. So here is the new podcast. There's a bit of a lull in Oscar happenings as we wait for the big night, so this week, Joe and Katey and I go a little more Off-Gold than usual. 

Topics include:

• Chris Nolan (Inception and a brief Memento cameo)
• The Jesse Eisenberg Show 
• Spirit Award Best Actress ballot. Could there be a Natalie Portman upset?
• The success of the Best Picture field at the box office
• Our individual least favorite Best Picture nominees (surprising results!)
• Toy Story 3. Is it a great movie or just a great 15 year narrative?
• Oscar Narratives. Reading purpose.
• Super 8 and Superbowl trailers
• Crushing on Michael Fassbender
• Nostalgia for Harrison Ford
• Reese Witherspoon: "Think about your choices, lady!"
• Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher

Join the conversation in the comments.

Podcast: Oscar Switches, Summer Dreams