Tuesday, September 18, 2012 at 6:59PM Parker Posey teaches Emmy Acceptance Speeches. There's still time to enroll before the big night! Only $899.
Acceptance Speeches, Emmy, Parker Posey, comedy, short films Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 9:00PM Nathaniel, here, returning to home base. I'm baaaa--aack. Did you miss me? I shan't take another day off until late October so I'm all yours again! But before we get started again, hugs and kisses and floral bouquets and firm handshakes to Leslye, Melanie, Beau, Jose, JA and Matt for filling in for the week.
The internet moves with such speed -- except while visiting relatives in internet challenged rural Utah -- that if you're gone for a week you can totally miss seismic events. Here are some webthingies I'm so so glad people alerted me to so that I didn't miss them in my spotty connectivity travels. I'm sharing them on the off chance you missed them. No one should have to!
Revenge came out on DVD! - a magical elf in PR made sure I received mine. Thanks you! The cover of the Season 1 box is Emily in her promotional thematic thorn dress but we all know the true magic of the best nighttime soap in decades and decades is Madeleine Stowe's icy glares... deadlier than any thorns have ever been! If you have any love for Stowe's early 90s heyday (Short Cuts, Mohicans, Blink - holla!) or the art of the prime time soap opera, you owe yourself this series. The first handful of episodes are a bit too procedural repetitive for me but once the gears catch... oh my diva, this is an addictive series. Madeleine Stowe for the Emmy! Damn. She wasn't even nominated. #unforgivable.
Cooler Cinema on the Sight & Sound List - This handwringing discussion of critical failure online is yet another example that that S&S List is proving to have an unusual shelf life in terms of continually trending topics. While it reads a bit to me like too much complaining about the lack of "instant classics" on the list -- I'm personally glad that canon lists focus on the past as that's what canons are for, to give you a foundation of cultural literacy rather than pat you on the back for your pleasure in the world's current favorites -- there's much food for thought here.
AO Scott's Review of The Oogieloves and the Big Balloon Adventure - Speaking of instant classics -- this review! The punchline is The. Best.
Karen O's Best Original Song Contender "Strange Love" - If Tim Burton's animated expansion of his early short Frankenweenie is as weird/cute/fresh, he might really have something. As usual Rich Juzwiak says it best:
I don't know whether Karen has lost her edge or merely child-proofed it, but the song is pretty fucking adorable.
David Fincher: A Film Title Retrospective - his films always have great credit sequences, don't they? This interview and wonderful quote only add to their appeal.
I don’t know how much movies should entertain. I’m interested in movies that scar.
Finally... two things I forgot to write about that I had totally planned to before I left.
I had the scoop on the Before Sunset sequel prior to anyone in the States and I stupidly forgot to post anything in my rush to pack and fly (Sorry Manolis!) so The Playlist got their first. Good on them. Word is Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke are already filming their third romantic duet and Before Midnight might be the title. I love that series so much. If it's as good as Before Sunset several cinephiles could well experience the rapture and vanish from the Earth.
Finally Finally there's one more week left in a peculiar challenge set by Lars von Trier who is asking young filmmakers to choose from one of six masterpieces
...and create a short film inspired by it but NOT too obviously/directly. A collaborative film will be built around the submissions by female director Jenle Hallund in a project they're calling Gesamt. Sounds interesting/weird/Five Obstructions Von Trier'ish. If you're all "why didn't you tell me this two weeks ago, Nathaniel ?!? I could have created a masterpiece" just think of yourself as a reality TV show contestant. They never give them any time to speak of and they manage. Create quickly by the seat of your pants. Create all the (possible) way into Danish film history.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012 at 2:00PM Tom Waits still amazing after all these year.
We don't see Tom Waits in the movies as much as we did in the 90s but I did like his turn as the devil in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. His next onscreen appearance is in Seven Psychopaths from the writer/director of In Bruges and co-stars Colin Farrel, Woody Harrelson, and Christopher Walken. (Pssst. I'm hearing good things about it, particularly Walken)
This gorgeous video is by the enduring illustrator/director/photographer Matt Mahurin. He's directed two full length features from what I can see (Feel in 2006 and Mugshot from 1996) neither of which I've ever heard of or received a release so perhaps his talents don't transfer to full length features? Still, I sometimes wish that other visual "visionaries" (like, oh say Tarsem Singh or Julie Taymor) were this focused. It's one amazing image after another in this video but the images are piggybacking and/or in communication with one another as they should be. It's all one cohesive ball of amazement instead of a series of "look what I can do!". If you're a young visionary watching, take notes!
Seven Psychopaths, Tom Waits, music videos, short films Tuesday, June 26, 2012 at 6:11PM I wasn't able to attend TropFest on Saturday night here in NYC due to last minute conflicts -- what a crazy week -- but it looks like a good time was had by all.
Hugh Jackman hosted the free event, the first in the US though the short film festival, born in Australia, has been going strong for 20 years. Hugh Jackman hosted while fellow Aussie Rose Byrne served with other celebs served on the jury. The winner Josh Leake won $20,000 and the once-in-a-lifetime chance to actually be on stage singing with Hugh Jackman. They sang Kander & Ebb's "New York New York" because, well, what else?
That acceptance speech duet and the winning film after the jump.
Hugh Jackman, NYC, Rose Byrne, film festivals, short films Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 9:41PM BURTONJUICE. Our Tim Burton retrospective begins now...
Every Thursday night until we can't take it no more!
Last week I rented the Disney documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty" which I was curious to see again after it's strangely quiet public reception. I really enjoyed the documentary and though it ended like one big long self-aggrandizing commercial for the Magic Kingdom and all they bring to the movies, it's first hour is surprisingly frank about the downward slide of Disney animation in the 70s and 80s and the political tug of wars among the big money executives.
But let's get to the subject. Don't you always forget that Tim Burton started at Disney? I know I do. He never gets a line in this documentary but we do see him briefly twice in the behind the scenes footage while the narrator talks about the generational divide at Disney during the animation studio's near-demise in the 1980s.
Ron Miller knew that Walt's guys were retiring fast. He had to raise a new crop of animators but he was cautious about it. It was this interesting cross generational thing where you still had a few of these legendary artists who were in their 60s and approaching retirement and then a bunch of young people in their 20s who were really really exited and sort of passionate about this medium.
It was thrilling to learn from the masters but there was a feeling that somehow we could be making better films."
Oscar winner Rick Heinrichs and Tim Burton at work on Vincent (1982)
He likes to experiment on his dog Abercrombie
in the hopes of creating a terrible zombie.
Vincent's Tim Burton's perfect woman?He knew he'd been banished to the tower of doom
where he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life.
alone with the portrait of his beautiful wife."
