Linknesses

Just Jared The Rum Diary gets a Johnny Depp-centric poster, opens in October... "absolutely nothing in moderation" tagline. What'cha think?
IndieWire Millenium buys Rampart and aims for an Oscar push for Woody Harrelson this year. My my my Best Actor is getting crowded, right?
Fandor's blog Keyframe just hosted a Guy Maddin blog-a-thon. Check it out.
Movie|Line talks to Sigourney Weaver about supporting Taylor Lautner through the action genre minefields with Abduction. (What a world, right?)
Wow Report Mia Farrow makes a LOL. Best tweet ever?

Cinema Blend Katey interviews Andrew Haigh the writer/director of Weekend. I really enjoyed talking to him too (my interview if you haven't seen it) but I love the bit about his dialogue writing that she gets him to discuss 9/10 minutes in. Very interesting process he has! I should've asked him about that. The bane of interviews is always thinking of things later that you really wish you'd asked.
MNPP James Dean's brotherly love screentest for East of Eden. 
Ultra Culture makes a funny with the Meryl Streep poster for The Iron Lady 

OffCinema
Sociological Images Elizabeth Warren is my new hero. Finally, a Democrat who can convey message in a clear, confident, convincing way.
Drawn If you're an artist reading, this lengthy video on celebrity caricature is super interesting in terms of technique and how to capture likenesses that are always so manipulated. This bit on Conan O'Brien's hair is choice.

I will draw his hair how we expect it to look, as if it had its own anatomical structure."
-John Kascht 

75th Anniversary! 
Have you played with this current Google Doodle honoring Jim Henson's birthday yesterday? (Shame I forgot about this one for blog purposes. Grrrr).

It's fun to play with though it's a bit difficult to replicate the two best surprises. 

Hey, who Abducted my links?

Taylor Lautner, that's who!
and Kate Winslet but we'll get to her in a minute.
Michael Musto wonders if Taylor Lautner can be a film star outside of Twilight. My guess is no... but that he'll be crying all the way to the bank for the rest of his life by association. But, really, if you can't even sell a performance (Abduction) for two minutes in a trailer, how are you going to carry an entire film? 
Ultra Culture also has some words about the disingenousness of the promotional efforts for Taylor's BabyBourne film and...
Movie|Line giggles about how desperately Abduction wants to be seen as Teen Bourne.
Biblioklept "all four Twilight books in one comic" by Lucy Knisey is totes funny so read it. Unless the previous words about Taylor hurt your feelers.

P.S. I don't follow these things: Is there another Twilight about to come out or something? Cuz why is everyone talking Twilight again just as Harry Potter finally shut up? Blargh! Put new things into the world. Why is 2011 just like 2007? Noooooooo

And since you're all talking about it in the comments without me even posting it, here is an early teaser/trailer (?) for CARNAGE.

For those of you who haven't seen the play you're seeing two of the three big moments from Winslet's character.... and almost none of anyone else's. Which is interesting choice for marketing... but doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of the movie as a whole.

Miscellania
My New Plaid Pants "who the hell wears this to dinner?" Sophia Loren, that's who!
Lemonwade the author of War Horse already has another film adaptation of his work, lined up. Private Peaceful is about two young farm brothers and, like War Horse, also takes place during The Great War.
Art & Design on the Jim Henson exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image and Cookie Monster's origins. Have I ever told you how much I love Cookie Monster? Probably not. I do.
Towleroad True Blood's Carrie Preston records an "It Gets Better" video.  (Loooooove her. Wish she'd do more supporting roles in movies as the last few were awesome)
Towleroad I'm not one for bathroom humor but Anderson Cooper is the world's cutest giggler - totally loses it when discussing Gerard Depardieu's urination incident.

Say What? Nicole

I asked you to amuse us by putting a caption or dialogue to this paparazzi photo of Nicole Kidman shopping in Sydney in the comments. 

The winner is JOHN T. who wrote...

Shopping for Lars is so hard."

LOL. Lars von Trier... maybe he is a closet "Zoe" fan. He's full of surprises. [Off Topic: If you've never read this ancient interview between Lars von Trier and P.T. Anderson around the time of Dogville, have at it. Thanks to Emmanuel for pointing it out. They love Nicole, hate Burt Reynolds (?), and talk about the director/actor relationship a lot.]

Honorable mention goes to Abstew and Derreck with the following:

hmmm, is the world ready for a reimagining of 'FUR'..."

Caption: Nicole Kidman, after being cast in the reboot of Sesame Street as Oscar's mother and the reason he became a grouch, was caught in a local toy store doing research for the role.

And y'all are right. The photo does remind one of the last scene in Eyes Wide Shut. 



Frog & Pig

June Weddings (reprinted from the TFE archives)

This news clipping, in pristine condition, which originally appeared in the New York Sun (circa 1984), is on loan to The Film Experience from Miss Piggy's vast personal collection of Miss Piggy memorabilia. We are doing our utmost to return it to her with nary a scratch, tear or stain upon it.

In related news, the new Muppet movie, simply titled The Muppets (2011) is only 147 days away. Not that we're counting.

The Muppets Take Manhattan

Yes, No, Maybe So: "Green With Envy"

Most of the time the lack of trailers at critic screenings is a wondrous blessing. I used to love watching trailers before movies but now that they show 7 to 8 of them before a feature and do so after commercials it feels like every movie is 3 hours long now. Still I really wish I'd seen the trailer to Green With Envy in front of Pirates of the Caribbean (review) this weekend...

I am crazy in love with the bait & switch here. Get to looking right now if you haven't yet seen it.

Regarding Green With Envy... just for fun as it doesn't actually exist... are you a Yes, No or a Maybe So?

• I'd love to say Yes given the warm (felt) fuzzies coming off this trailer but it looks so generic. Yes, I  know that's part of the joke. But still... the world needs no more generic romcoms.The genre needs another Annie Hall level game changer, right?

Regarding The Muppets... Yes, No or Maybe So?

• I feel nothing but eternal affirmatives whenever Miss Piggy is near. I purchased a ticket for this in perpetuity when I was 5.