05.26.08
Posted in obituaries, industry news at 8:32 pm by FilmFemme
I’m always a little bit excited to use tags that I don’t use very often — but I’m not excited to use my obituary tag on Sydney Pollock, who died Sunday at his home in the Pacific Palisades. He was diagnosed with cancer 9 months ago.
From his role as Jack in one of my very favorite Woody Allen movies, Husbands & Wives, to his producing and acting credits on last years truly great Michael Clayton, Pollock brought a certain unassuming sophistication to his work. I have mentioned him on this site before, as someone with an eye for energy and visual stimulation.
With a quiet personal life (he was married to Claire Griswold from 1958 until his death — 50 fucking years) and a screen persona that was more paternal (as evidenced by his role as nurturing, tough-love father figure in Michael Clayton, as well as his turn as Will’s actual father on the sitcom Will & Grace) than commanding, Pollock may not have been the first actor to come to mind when reciting the A-list. But with a filmography that includes 2 Oscars (Best Director and Best Picture for Out of Africa) and a slew of contemporary classics from The Way We Were to Tootsie, Pollock contributed meaning and life to American film and his brand of class and humanity will be missed.
Permalink
04.07.08
Posted in obituaries, industry news at 7:46 am by FilmFemme
I don’t have much to say about the death of Charlton Heston. Should I be sad? The guy was pretty old. I’m also embarrassed to admit that I haven’t seen very many of his most famous films, including Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes and The Ten Commandments (apart from bits and pieces every Easter…actually, that’s often the only thing that reminds me it’s Easter at all). So, his screentime that is most memorable to me is his interview in Bowling for Columbine and as you may know, that was not a very flattering portrayal. Also, did he have Alzheimer’s or what? I wonder if he thought people with Alzheimer’s should be allowed to have guns, too. Quite a dilemma, Charlie. Anyway, I mostly just wanted to use my “Obituaries” category. So, here’s hoping they let you take your guns to heaven (please note that I did not make a “from his cold dead hands” joke anywhere. But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to.)
Permalink
03.19.08
Posted in best of, opinion, industry news, lists at 12:47 pm by FilmFemme
and I can’t decide how to feel about that:
(1) Elation? Michael Cera in a movie directed by Edgar Wright in which “a young slacker […]meets the woman of his dreams but finds that he can only win her heart by battling and defeating her seven evil ex-boyfriends. ” Oh yes, tell me more, Hollywood Reporter!
(2) Confusion? Anton Yelchin in the new Terminator movie opposite Christian Bale? Why put so much sexy oppposite so much mediocre? Why why why?
(3) Trepidation? Michael Cera is also slated to be in Youth in Revolt, directed by Chuck & Buck/The Good Girl’s Miguel Arteta, but written by the awfully untalented Gustin Nash who wrote the truly horrible Charlie Bartlett starring the way overhyped Anton Yelchin! Will it be good? Can Mikey save it? Why isn’t it written by Mike White so I can be truly excited about it??
This is why I don’t read the trades anymore…I’m just not cut out for these kinds of emotional rollercoasters.
03.12.08
Posted in film festivals, opinion, industry news, lists at 10:10 am by FilmFemme
Don’t get too excited, I didn’t go there. Maybe next year. But I was just reading about it in this LA Times article, with the oh-so-clever headline “Like its well-fed folks, the Austin, Texas, gathering is swelling” (aren’t there too many commas in there?).
I wanted to go to SXSW (I don’t get a lot of pleasure out of that acronym - I think because it’s purely visual. No one says “Ess Ex Ess Double U”) last year, but because of Bob Dylan, not because of the burgeoning film festival*. And now I learn that Knocked Up premiered there last year and this year Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay did.
Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
03.01.08
Posted in industry news at 10:44 pm by FilmFemme
Which was least deserved?
More importantly, who has better tits?
Permalink
02.29.08
Posted in indie, industry news, comedy, reviews at 2:52 pm by FilmFemme
Anyone who’s anyone - that is, anyone who reads Defamer - has heard about how the plot for Be Kind Rewind was (maybe) copied (probably just a coincidence) from an episode of Amanda “Ellen Page? Where the Fuck is My Oscar Nomination?!” Bynes’ old Nickelodeon show (the impeccably titled) The Amanda Show. I think this ’scandal’ is a little interesting (not as good as Katie Holmes Faked Running the NYC Marathon, but still pretty good) but since it’s probably just a coincidence, maybe it will, at the very least, serve to deflate Michel Gondry’s ego a little. No, you know, scratch that. I like to think of Michel Gondry as a kind of whimsical, artsy, aw shucks my movie isn’t that great kind of guy (don’t ask me to explain why I think this, it is probably way off base). So, maybe this accusation will devastate him completely! I definitely don’t want that.
Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
02.25.08
Posted in industry news at 7:22 pm by FilmFemme
Well. Mania might be a bit of a stretch. Apart from a couple of upsets - mainly in Best Actress (Marion Contillion? Coqutteien? Quotidien? You know, that French chick from that movie no one in America saw and whose title reminds me of that other French movie about that little boy who was a crossdresser? Do you know what I’m talking about? No?) and Best Supporting Actress (well, yeah, Tilda Swinton is awesome - if a little off-putting - but I really didn’t think she was going to win. I was pulling for Cate as Bob.) it was pretty tame.
How much did all those Best Songs suck? I mean, Enchanted was cute but three big song productions with no Patrick Dempsey involvement at all? No thank you!
And Diablo Cody won (Oscar party banter: “I wouldn’t pay 10 bucks for a lap dance from that chick.”)
And No Country for Old Men? Oh, I had no idea that it was even nominated for any awards because it’s not like I’ve seen 10 thousand posters with dissertations calling it The Best Reviewed Most Awesome Kickass Great High Brow Oscar Golden Globe Every Possible Award Maybe Even Webby Award Nominated Perfect Movie Ever. It was pretty great, though.
Oh well. Maybe Bjork will do something next year. We can only hope.
Permalink
01.26.08
Posted in obituaries, opinion, industry news at 8:27 pm by FilmFemme
When I was 15, I thought it would be cool to be a film snob. It’s hard to be a 15 year old girl and be a snob about anything - if you want to have any friends, which I did want. Actually, I needed friends, because I couldn’t drive yet and didn’t want to hang out with my parents basically ever. So, when I couldn’t convince my dad to drive me to the Egyptian theatre in Denver, I would go to the movies with my 15 year old friends. This is how I saw gems like Bounce and Forces of Nature (hmm…Ben Affleck doesn’t have a drug problem, does he? Too bad.) However. This is also how I saw 10 Things I Hate About You and how I fell in love with Heath Ledger. Everyone mentions the swoon-worthy moment of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You on the bleachers while Julia Stiles‘ Kat plays soccer, but that’s not the moment I replay. Kat and Heath find themselves at one of those wild high school parties that seem to only happen in movies. She drinks too much, dances on a table and eventually barfs. But even though up until this point, Heath was only seducing her because he was getting paid, he takes care of her. And he is so fucking charming and beautiful. I still want that.
I was too young and unhip to really be affected by the deaths of other young luminaries like River Phoenix or Kurt Cobain. I am old enough now and I feel affected. What makes me so sad is the knowledge that he will never be in another movie (who is going to take his roles? Josh Hartnett? Please!). His resume is so short when I know that he would have kept getting better and better (not to mention hotter and hotter). It’s my understanding he was even going to venture into directing. It’s so tragic, it really is. So let’s just watch one of his movies, weep and say no to drugs. Well, at least two of those things.
Permalink
11.06.07
Posted in opinion, industry news at 3:14 pm by FilmFemme
In case you’re living in a cave or the Midwest (same diff), the WGA went on strike yesterday. Let’s take a moment to collect our thoughts and mourn what might be the last few episodes of Private Practice.
Done? Let’s move on.
This strike is going to have no tangible effect on my life. And you know what, maybe Hollywood could do without a pilot season this year. Because if The Big Bang Theory is the best they can do, it seems like they might need a break. And maybe a few weeks or months trudging around picketing studios will give these writers the perfect kind of self-loathing and existential crises from which they can mine brilliant ideas and scathing dialogue.
If you want to be serious about it, I don’t know the specifics of the strike, but from what I gathered over at Defamer, it seems like the WGA is being pretty reasonable (read: don’t want to be fucked over by studios making money on the internet off of stuff that they created from nothing) and the studios are being dicks (read: acting like studios). I also feel bad for other production-types that are going to be affected. So cheekiness aside, I hope the strike comes to a swift and fair end. But I’m still glad it’s not the grocery stores again.
UPDATE: Apparently I’m not alone in my assesment of the dismal Television landscape (from the L.A. Times)
Dana Gould, a former writer on “The Simpsons,” described the studios’ tactic as a “controlled burn” strategy that would save these giant companies millions of dollars. He said the timing couldn’t be better, amid television’s recent poor ratings.
“It’s a reboot. They want to hit Control-Alt-Delete on the fall season,” Gould said.
Permalink
09.18.07
Posted in industry news at 4:56 pm by FilmFemme
This movie was in the top 5 at the box office over the past weekend. And I have never ever heard of it ever. How the fuck did that happen?
Permalink
« Previous entries
