Second Star on the Right: Joanna Lumley

I don't think I've ever mentioned Joanna Lumley on The Film Experience pages. I've liked her in movies on occassion and of course she was regularly LOL-worthy as oversexed overboozed "Patsy" in AbFab back in the day. But I would like to formally apologize right at this moment for her absence on TFE because her latest move has won my heart several times over. 

She's currently lending her celebrity to raise funds to turn Moat Brae in Dumfries, the inspirational birthplace (of sorts) for J.M. Barrie's immortal Peter Pan, into a children's literature center. He claims his time there was among the happiest in his life.

Lumley says

I want to help raise the profile of this admirable project so that Peter Pan fans from all over the world can support this wonderful restoration."

Honestly that is SO fitting and such a worthy cause and now I just want to hug her. If I had plenty of £ I would throw it like fairy dust at this project.

Peter Pan is a Metaphor, Hollywood

Early this morning I was reading Katey's piece on Cinema Blend telling us that Sony was going forward with a movie called Pan, a Channing Tatum Peter Pan origin story of sorts and I just kept (figuratively) scratching my head and other sources confirm this is happening. Katey and I are of like minds on this one as we both like Tatum more than you'd think ...and more than perhaps is reasonable *ahem*. But the project just makes zero sense on paper. Or at least on paper in simple high concept form.

What to make of it all? Can't we leave Peter Pan to little boy actors? Though I feel like this should go without saying maybe Hollywood needs a little schooling. "The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" is a conceptual metaphor. Peter Pan is not a literal story. Yes, it's about men who can't leave boyhood behind but that's the emotional gist. It's not literal. Peter Pan can but should NEVER be played by full grown men. Maybe my resistance to this is all that deep scarring from the hideous Hook twenty years ago. Christ that movie was awful. While Channing Tatum is a good ten years younger than Robin Williams was for Steven Spielberg's nadir, 30 is still too old to play Pan. Just when Hollywood had finally dropped the habit of having mature women play the flying boy do we have to have mature men take over?

I mean even back when Channing Tatum was a male model and several lbs leaner he was still way too, um, how to put this... carnal for Pan, you know? Unless they're making an entirely different movie than we think they're making!

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The Linkozoic Era

I didn't really intend for this linklist to be so long but the internet kept handing me enjoyable things this morning. Thank you internets.

Stale Popcorn "Olivia Newton-John swinging from a chandelier" This Aussie comedy just went to the top of my wish list.
My New Plaid Pants JA expresses jealousy, warnings and commendations for Amanda Seyfriend's uh, active, Hollywood dating.
IndieWire Deneuve gets a standing ovation at the premiere of Potiche in NYC.

Right here i had an article which talked about the dinosaur-rumor in Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (2011) but it's been taken down. But here is a still of Brad Pitt in the movie anyway!

Brad Pitt in "The Tree of Life"

Boy Culture William Orbit thinks Madonna's W.E. is really good.
Playbill Kathleen Turner to host the Drama League awards
Coming Soon Dreamworks Animation schedule until 2014. Heavy on the sequels, duh. Between this and Pixar's sequel heavy slate, I feel certain that the second golden age of animation will soon end. Only originality can keep a golden age going.

I saw this on Blog Stage and had to share it. Nicole Kidman at 16 (!!!) promoting BMX Bandits. I love how she's so matter-of-fact about the actors not being good enough to do their own stunts.

Nicole Kidman on Young Talent Time from Severin Films on Vimeo.

Film Doctor 8 notes on Rango
i09 on scifi television and the mythical "Summer Glau Curse"
Towleroad Eeek. Blade Runner's replicants are not so far away. Here's a mechanical clone of a guy in Denmark
Alt Film Guide picks up the baton I'm always a-carrying. What the hell does Oscar have against giving actresses Honorary Oscars?
Go Fug Yourself readers votes are in and the single Best and Worst dressed at the Oscars is revealed. Their best is my worst! But their worst wasn't even at the Oscars so I feel like it's cheating.

Finally...

Daily Mail I love this story. The baby of one of The King's Speech producers dropped his Oscar. Hee. A film critic is born?

Finding Linker-Land

The Film Doctor 10 questions regarding 127 Hours
Cinebeats Tura Satana (RIP)
Slant  new book on Spike Lee's classic Do the Right Thing.
Latino Review EEEeeeee. "Ursa" could be the villainess of the rebooted Superman. Good luck trying to top Sarah Douglas's bitchery in Superman II (1980). Although, I'm heartened that Rosamund Pike is in the running. She deserves a big high profile movie star breakthrough.

Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Zod (Terence Stamp) in Superman II

Go Fug Yourself reveals their SAG best & worst dressed from their substantial readership polling. Was I supposed to know that Rooney Mara was Kate Mara's sister? The things that slip by you...
Pajiba "Top 5" Stars Unworthy of Their Status
Cinema Blend wonders if James Franco isn't spreading himself dangerously thin. He might be Oz: The Great and Powerful now in addition to nine other projects.
Pop Matters reviews the box set "The Films of Rita Hayworth". Ugh, why didn't I get a copy for review? Incidentally, if you ever happen to see Tonight and Every Night (1945) you'll feel a strange sense of deja vu. It's the same story as Oscar nominee Mrs Henderson Presents (2005) albeit told in a different tone and from a different angle.

Finally, be very afraid: Finding Neverland The Musical is heading your way soon. I'm only joking about being afraid. The songwriting team employed here did the enchanting music to Grey Gardens and Peter Pan is a long time stage tradition so why stop now? Plus, if you think about it certain gaggy, twee or pushily sentimental projects could (hypothetically) work much better with the distance from reality that song and dance can provide in much the same way that animation lowers our guard to things we'd think weren't soggy with sentiment in live action. I actually think that The King's Speech, which I think is a good film but no "best", would make a fine musical; the King doesn't stutter when he sings so right there embedded in your concept is the opportunities to show songs as transcendent rescue from daily troubles.  Sounds perfect for a movie musical... though you'd have to have had a different cast. I'm not sure anyone would have wanted to see/hear Colin Firth (Mamma Mia) or Helena Bonham-Carter (Sweeney Todd) singing again, now would they?

P.S. Unrelated: Pixar's 25th anniversary was just a few days back. Some words coming up this week.

Happy Groundhog Day

You wouldn't know it to look outside here in New York City where it's been a wintry wonderland (or horror show depending on your point of view) but we're supposedly due for an early spring. Which is to say that the groundhogs trotted out for this occassion each year are reportedly not seeing their shadows this morning.

Only Peter Pan has a more complicated relationship with his shadow. (Free Association so I went with it.) I love Peter Pan. This year I think I'm totally going to give animated films their due. They've gotten short shrift here at The Film Experience. A few moments with Pixar starting tomorrow.