Link He Wrote

GQ Michael Fassbender profiled
Deadline Octavia Spencer in a Murder She Wrote reboot? Maybe because I think procedurals are the most formulaic of all genres and entirely dependable on personality to be distinctive at all this sounds like a great idea to me. To others (Angela Lansbury super fans) it will surely sound like sacrilege.
MCN Late October and still no Best Picture frontrunner?
Empire Team Gattaca reuniting: Andrew Niccol and Ethan Hawke making another film together. Call me when Uma & Jude join and we'll talk.

 

Anatomy of a Scene Blue is the Warmest Color I'm bookmarking this one and waiting till I've seen the movie. Hopefully today
Antagony & Ecstasy on Dario Argento's Dracula 3D 
MNPP Jamie Dornan has been cast in 50 Shades of Grey but you need to know who appreciated him first. Besides Keira Knightley
Pajiba amputee Josh Sundquist wins Halloween again. Incredible costume! 
Coming Soon an unfortunate typecasting niche: John Ridley, who wrote a beautiful script for 12 Years a Slave has signed on to the remake of Ben-Hur which is, in case you've forgotten, also a slavery narrative.
The Advocate on the Oscar eligible LGBT documentary hopeful Bridegroom 

Off Cinema
New Yorker "the dream of keeping poor people from seeing the doctor must never die." I love this but it's also sad that political satire barely has to try these days to be accurate!
Vanity Fair "The Ronan Farrow Love & Politics Dreamboat Hour"

Todays' Watch
The sounds of Gravity... (I'm not sure if it's going to win Best Picture but it seems likely that it walks away with the most statues even if it doesn't.)

Horror Fest 2013
Though horror is not among my favorite movie genres I really had a great time viewing a few seminal movies and working on the Best Horror Pre-Exorcist / Post-Exorcist group lists that we did for this haunted month. I'm realizing, as I stated on the latest podcast (one of my favorite episodes actually!), that maybe I like horror films more than I thought but that it's actually just the slasher sub-genre that I hate. Since I came of movie age in the 80s, I now understand that I equate the entire genre with slashers, for whom I have no use. I just find those movies repulsive and politically suspect (so much sexism and conservativism) and I just need more artistry in my movies.

But anyway my point is this: two members of the team shared more at their personal blogs and you should read them: Michael's Top Ten Lists with commentary ; Jason's own Pre-Pazuzu / Post-Pazuzu  lists... and if you like horror Jason is one of THE voices on the web you should be obsessing on. I actually credit him with opening my heart up to the genre slowly over the past few years, like one rib at a time ...now that it's open, don't get stabby with it!

P.S. I ♥ Shelley Duvall in The Shining so much -- f*** everyone who thinks she's terrible in it! -- and that is my last word on these horror lists we did for this season.

Team Top 10: Horror Films AFTER "The Exorcist"

It's Amir here, bringing you the second episode of this month's Team Top Ten. Last week we looked at the best horror films made before The Exorcist. This week it's time for everything that came after that seminal classic. Moreso than in the previous list, Team Experience members have agreed on canonical titles, barring an exception or two. This isn't to say there weren't any surprises. We decided against compiling a preliminary list of eligible titles before voting - precisely to avoid total agreement on our choices - and lo and behold, differences in opinion over what is considered horror lead to some major eyebrow-raisers; I'm already anticipating your comments about the absence of Jaws. But that's the fun in list-making.

Without further ado join us for the haunted house, serial killers, and terrifying isolation of...

The Top Ten Best
Post-Exorcist Horror Films

Click to read more ...

Crazy/Possessed Ballerinas. Are There Any Other Kinds?

In preparation for our two part Horror Best Listing (pre-Exorcist and post-Exorcist which arrives tonight) I caught up with a few classic titles. One of them, briefly discussed on the latest podcast, was Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977). I can't say I took to it exactly, despite being partial to films which boozily strip naked and beg their Production Designer & Cinematographer to f*** them.

slumber parties in horror movies? never a good idea

Suspiria (have you seen it?) starts sort of well, flying right into an unnatural rainstorm with a weirdly off kilter urgency as ballerina Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) arrives in Germany to attend an prestigious ballet academy. But those first two kills are so yuck making the intro a mixed bag for me. For its middle section, which I assume is where the film's classic status derives, the movie does little cul-de-sacs in creepy/garish atmospherics punctuated by two perversely inventive murders. But then, oops, time is up. For its last trick, Suspiria speeds through a dud finale with mood-killing exposition (how was Udo Kier ever this young!?) and badly dated visual effects. By the time the credits appear, it's lost pretty much all of its intermittent unnerving power. For me at least; I understand others really do dig it.

After Suspiria ended, my mind wandered to a more general cinematic question: Are there any silver screen ballerinas that are happy?

See, it seems like screen ballerinas are always batshit crazy whether they're...

Suspiria

...possessed by the occult

The Red Shoes

...dancing feverishly as if possessed by toe shoes

Black Swan

...having psychotic feathered breaks

The Turning Point

...or engaging in neurotic Oscarbait-offs. 

Can you think of any well adjusted ballerinas in fiction?
And if you can't whose your favorite nutjob ballerina?

Podcast: 12 Years A Slave To Horrors

Nick and Joe join Nathaniel to discuss the Chicago Film Festival where they're catching movies like August: Osage County during the day and falling asleep watching old Oscar broadcasts chez Nick (1991 and 2006 make vital cameo appearances in this 'cast). That's our kind of weekend!

We all share the love for Steve McQueen's amazingly powerful 12 Years a Slave which Nathaniel has just seen a second time. Then we're on to discussing some horror classics which we've been thinking about due to our recent Team Top Ten lists of the best of that genre. Horror films briefly discussed include: Carrie, Rosemary's Baby, The Night of the Living Dead, Carnival of Souls, Misery and Suspiria. 

You can listen at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes. Join in the conversation in the comments.

12 Years a Slave to Horror

All is Link

Village Voice great piece on BAM's retrospective of Karen Black (happening right now!) by Stephanie Zacharek
Vulture All is Lost, Robert Redford and taking stardom for granted
AV Club "100 Episodes" takes on Homestar Runner - great piece about the evolution of Web TV. 
Guardian talks to Chris Hemsworth about Thor consuming his life and what he learns from film to film

 

My New Plaid Pants begins "The 13 Snakes of Halloween" festivities with The Witches and Anaconda. Oooh, what comes next? 
Coming Soon Avatar sequels start filming in one year's time. Happy Halloween so don't throw away your blue body paint just yet.
i09 on 11 misanthropic horror movies from Cabin in the Woods to Frankenstein
LA Times Scarlett Johansson, winning fresh raves for her voice work in Her, is mystified by the awards process.

I don't even know how it works. And I'm an Academy member!" 

Exit Image
Here's our first image of Reese Witherspoon from Wild which she tweeted herself...

Here's first pic of me as Cheryl Strayed in WILD. So excited to play @cherylstrayed in a movie! http://t.co/t00BFeR5nX

— Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) October 18, 2013

Her very own less grim Into the 127 Hours sorta one-man kinda show about a actress who hiked 1000 miles after losing her mojo. No I kid I kid, it's the true story of a woman who did that after her divorce and her mother's death. It started filming last week. I sincerely hope Reese packed her Oscar in that napsack just to remind herself about ACTING. It's unwise to share the screen with Laura Dern if you haven't reminded yourself of that.

Yes, in the oddest casting news for this movie Laura Dern who is but 9 years older than Reese will be playing her mother.