Naked Duck Gallery and Brooklyn Fire Proof, Inc.
"Artwork from some of today's finest independent musicians"
October 29 - November 21, 2004
Live Music Venue at Brooklyn Fire Proof, Inc. 10:00 PM Friday October 29

Featured Artists
Devendra Banhart (Solo, Angels of Light)
Daniel Smith (Danielson Famile)
Tim Rutili (Califone, Red Red Meat)
David Pajo (Papa M, Will Oldham)
Jessica Billey (Mekons, Boxhead Ensemble)
Loren Connors (Solo, Jim O'Rourke)
Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Brothers)
Tara Jane O'Neil (Solo, Retsin)

Click Here for our gallery listings

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 08:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We officially LOVE Eminem after watching this. Karl Rove and Dubya don't share the sentiment. Check out his new, amazingly vindictive indictment of Bush Inc. Hopefully MTV will have the balls to air it. As Salon states "'Mosh'" [is] the most powerful broadside against the administration since 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'"

http://www.gnn.tv/videos/viewer.php?id=27&spd=hi

Alternate Stream:
http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/videos.asp?artistID=1037847

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Pat Buchanan's The American Conservative can't even find it in themselves to support the incompetent and scary George W. Bush. Today they announced their support for John Kerry, batting home our belief that this year our choices are for a moderate, pro-choice Republican (Kerry) versus a jingoistic, Rapture-ready, Armageddon-here-we-come Neo-conservative. Even if you're a Republican, Kerry is the correct choice.

From The American Conservative:

"George W. Bush has come to embody a politics that is antithetical to almost any kind of thoughtful conservatism.

His international policies have been based on the hopelessly naïve belief that foreign peoples are eager to be liberated by American armies—a notion more grounded in Leon Trotsky’s concept of global revolution than any sort of conservative statecraft. His immigration policies—temporarily put on hold while he runs for re-election—are just as extreme. A re-elected President Bush would be committed to bringing in millions of low-wage immigrants to do jobs Americans “won’t do.” This election is all about George W. Bush, and those issues are enough to render him unworthy of any conservative support."

Read the article here:
http://www.amconmag.com/2004_11_08/cover1.html

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Lick Bush Ltd., Music For America, Bands Against Bush
and IndyVoter present.

INDIE ROCK THE VOTE
Reminding you to get your ass to the polls on Nov 2nd

Tuesday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.
Siberia, 356 W. 40th St./9th Ave.
$5

Featuring: Members of the Ataris, The Everyothers, The
Tallboys, The Weekenders, Pretty Flowers, Starchild,
UKUK, Hearts on Fire and Emma La Reina, plus guest
speakers and surprises.

More information: 718-670-3707 or rncprotestparty@yahoo.com.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

INOUK
interview by alexander laurence

It's our job at Free Williamsburg to expose new bands that are bound to take the indie world by storm. Inouk is one of those bands. They are bringing psychedelic music to the people. And 2004 was the summer of groovy love power.

Inouk was originally formed in Philadelphia. The band consists of brothers Damon McMahon (vocals/guitar) and Alexander McMahon (vocals/guitars), Ian Fenger (lead guitar), Jesse Johnson (bass) and Glen Brasile (drums). Their music is unclassifiable -- progressive music that allows for many musical influences to come and go. Inouk is making music where the music is the most important thing, not fashion or hairstyles (despite that Flock of Seagulls thing going on in the picture).

Inouk released an EP a few months ago. After that they have been playing nonstop all year. In August 2004, their first album "No Danger" was finally released. I got to speak to Damon McMahon before they started touring again with Hope Of The States. INOUK WILL BE LIVE AT THE FADER CMJ PARTY | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 | 176 ORCHARD ST. AT HOUSTON | 7PM

Click Here to read the interview

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Robert Henke
"Signal to Noise"
(Imbalance Computer Music)

In a country overrun with laptop dub wizards and art gallery DJs, Robert Henke is perhaps one of Germany's more interesting thump-funkers. As Monolake, Henke creates spatial sound environments you can dance to that succeed at inducing physical motivation as well as mental stimulation -- to the satisfaction of fashionable booty-shakers and digital glitch fanatics everywhere.

Henke's latest effort, "Signal to Noise," (pictured above) however, finds the Berliner expanding his palette beyond the caverns of warehouse club culture and outside the realm of the headphone mindset.

Technically speaking, these three epic-length tracks are experiments in FM synthesis. In applying a meditative approach -- a quality often underlying much of his dance music -- Henke patiently explores the mutative effects of slowly shifting timbres. The resultant harmonic drones create new, virtual environments that have a strange semblance to natural surroundings. In the liner notes, Henke characterizes this effect as only a partial coincidence and one that spurred him to willfully force such similarities by remembering certain places he's been to before.

While it's interesting how "Studies for Thunder" recalls certain rainy days I've lived through, the experience of listening to Henke's virtual re-creation does little to stimulate the ears, and puts one in a mood that's surprisingly unmemorable. The title track -- divided into two parts -- seemingly aims for mood enhancement, but its constantly shifting overtones create more of a trance-like state than anything else, and the processing Henke applies to his tapestry of timbres are disappointingly static.

If "Signal to Noise" could be presented in and listened back to in multi-speaker surround sound, it might make for a more impressive listen. In the meantime, let's hope Robert Henke gets his groove back.

-- John Rickman

--------------------------------------------------------------

Fast Forward / T Cells
Split CD
(Three One G)

Even grindcore thrash-rockers go through an experimental phase, or so it seems with the new split CD by Southern California's Fast Forward and T Cells. Both acts, which apparently have links to various hipster hardcore groups, reveal an innate tendency to spazz when confronted with electronic gadgets and drum machines, but one is more experimental than the other.

Rewind in time to about 1982 and you'll be in sync with the sound of Fast Forward - a band of darkwave derelicts whose take on industrial dance music is slightly annoying, ironically low brow, and resolutely lo-fi. Fast Forward's stark synth anthems swing like an old Soft Cell or Silicon Teens record, but favor proletariat sloganeering and existential angst over glamour and gloss.

It's hard to tell exactly what lies beneath the veneer here, but the group seems to be grappling with a convergence of issues revolving around racial identity and dissident thought. It's not clear why they title their five contributions 'Live In Afrika', but when they chant "white pride/black power/everybody gets shoved in the shower" on the track "Race Relations," Fast Forward seem to be expressing frustration with a world ensnared by growing cross-cultural currents of apartheid.

T Cells on the other hand, come across as purposefully nonsensical and seem to have little use for context or cryptic imagery, much less standard modes of song composition. Thus, T Cells excel where Fast Forward does not, and that's in the gadget-fuckery department.

The first two tracks, "Deformed" and "Finger in the Socket," have electronic rhythms that any two-legged troglodyte with or without opposing thumbs could have come up with. However, their quirky employment of buzzing techno tones, cheesy snyths, and white-noise blasts combine to create a spastic frenzy of surrealist fun. Making the esoteric nature of this split release complete, T Cells throw down an impressive electro cover version of Crime's "Maserati."

-- John Rickman

---------------------------------------------------

Fat Day
"Unf! Unf!"
(Load)

Fat Day's new full-length "Unf! Unf!" is a collection of quick, vigorous zaps of rock and roll shock treatment sandwiched between moments of quasi-religious techno-hymns. Hailing from Cambridge, MA, Arik, Doug, Matt, and Zak pay little respect to the guitar Gods and instead worship mathematically-complex arrangements of bass and drums, only to top it all off with adolescent ranting and cheap-sounding synthesizers.

Locked and loaded, Fat Day literally explode from track to track. So much so that what they have to say has to be delivered in an abbreviated, Ginsburg-esque stutter: "Good things cheap! Toasters! It's a treat! Waaaah! It's not garbage. Nordic tracks! TM! Break our backs! Waaaaah!"

Fortunately, their hyper-spastic breakdowns are offset by the occasional stained glass synth movement, sinfully misleading the listener into a Zen of iniquity.

Blink and you'll miss this 30-minute masterpiece of youthful indulgence. If you're caught yawning, then you're probably too old or too slow for musical fireworks such as this.

John Rickman

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yes, it's true.... DFA has consummated a relationship with EMI. We love them too much to not forgive them.

Don't miss their "onwards party" Friday October 15 at The Dark Room (165 Ludlow Street). No list. No cover. Starts at 10pm.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Publicolor welcomes local ARTISTS and community volunteers to HELP transform a Williamsburg high school with COLOR!!! Publicolor is a not for profit organization that teaches at-risk students the marketable skill of commercial painting. Students are empowered to change thier dreary school into a beautiful learning environment by painting the interior with vibrant colors. This influential change can not be done without the time and energy from volunteers every Saturday (10:30am-2:30pm)! Please learn more about Publicolor on our website (www.publicolor.org) and email us at volunteers@publicolor.org to pick a saturday and get directions!!!! Many COLORFUL thanks!

They are painting a high school in Williamsburg (Van Arsdale- North 6th and Roebling). It is a huge school and is mostly beige. It is an incredible experience because the space visibly changes from boring to brilliant by the afternoon.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

What a surprise... only really shitty authors who sell well at Walmart are voting for Bush....

Read the Slate article

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

An Unfinished Life
A novel by Mark Spragg
A non-review by J. Stefan-Cole

The question that bugged me as I read Mark Spragg's novel, AN UNFINISHED LIFE; Alfred A. Knopf, 2004, was which came first, the screenplay or the novel? The novel's publish date was September 5th, the film version of the story, as written on the back of my reviewer's copy is billed as, "Soon to be a major motion picture (Miramax, December, 2004)". For a movie to be released in December it would have to be in the can by June, and quickly in the editing room for the weeks or months post-production takes. But before production there would have to have been pre-production; location scouts, costume people put in place, a director of cinematography and so on, and before that a director and talent had to be brought on board, and, with some back and forth, producers to produce the money. But way back even before any of that there had to be a screenplay. Okay, maybe someone got their hands on the manuscript and ran with the idea of pushing a film project before a screenplay was written, but you see where I am going.

Where exactly am I going? Partly, I'm going to the point that the book felt like a movie when I read it. The obvious scene by scene-ness of it, the way characters were gone into just enough to make me keep turning pages, but not enough to complicate the situation so if, say, the characters were going to show up in a movie, the transition wouldn't be all that hard to make. It turns out Lasse Hallstrom directed the movie, "An Unfinished Life". Hallstrom has made at least one great film, "My Life as a Dog"; he also made "Chocolat," which I cannot comment on having not seen it. I did see the movie Hallstrom made of E. Annie Proulx's novel, THE SHIPPING NEWS, which was a fine book, but an inferior movie in my estimation, though the visuals were astonishing, and, like the book, made me want to go to Newfoundland to see the blue icebergs. Kevin Spacey was miscast as Quoyle and the novel was butchered; it almost had to be butchered to make a movie out of it at all. Annie Proulx is on record as having been satisfied that the spirit of her book was kept reasonably in tact in the film version, but I have the cheek to disagree. Leaving aside Proulx's occasional drop dead incredible prose, I disagree precisely because the characters were written to be read. They are human and their progress toward a greater version of themselves takes time and more than just dialogue, and the shorthand characters that are usually written for films ("major motion pictures", anyway) are robbed of half their blood. Movies, for one, are hard pressed to present an internal life. If a book is all about plot or sentiment, no problem, but if a book involves complex characters in complex situations, where some sort of personal denouement occurs that is dramatic on a level further along than the obvious or superficial, which good books tend to be, the action cannot break down into a simple situation of conflict, resolution and tidy climax in the space of ninety minutes; the bread and butter time frame of most movies. I mean, we are not talking about John Cassavetes' idea of film characters here.

So, reading the character Einar Gilkyson (played by Robert Redford in the film) in Spragg's novel, I felt I was mostly getting the surface of the old guy, a Wyoming rancher who lost his only son in a car crash and who blames the death on his sexy daughter-in-law Jean (played by Jennifer Lopez). There is a kid in the book (I don't know who is playing her) that Einar doesn't know exists until she and her mom show up one day, ten years after the car crash, fleeing the clutches of a violent loser mom had taken up with. The kid is named Griff, after her dad, and we are told that her mother has been with a string of abuser boyfriends and that she hates her for it, and the poor girl sounds wise beyond her years. The book gives each major character a shot at their own POV in a sort of over the shoulder third person narrative, which means less likelihood of an omniscient voice probing too deeply into their unconscious motivations, which translates into things being conveniently spelled out. Morgan Freeman plays another old guy, Mitch, who has worked at Einar's ranch since they served together in the Korean War. Mitch hadn't much of a life before he and Einar became battle buddies and he is reasonably content living in the bunkhouse except that the ranch is not functioning anymore because Einar's too old, his son is dead, and Mitch was mauled by a bear and is seriously mangled as a result, plus he's hooked on daily shots of morphine, administered by Einar, to manage the pain. I don't know who is playing the louse, the nasty boyfriend Roy, in the movie, but he gets a shot at a voice too. The inside of Roy's head is actually pretty funny, if one-dimensional, bigoted and predictable. "...Roy blinks against the flash of headlights. He knows damn well there isn't a woman in the world who can keep her mouth shut long enough, not through a man's whole lifetime, where she won't need to get smacked at least once. And he knows you wouldn't have to if you didn't love them. That's just a law of nature." There is an old dog in the book too, Karl, who is also predictable as a device.

All the elements are in place for a big feature film: A date night; popcorn, Kleenex for the Kleenex moments (there are at least two), and the Wyoming landscape will doubtless be spectacular to watch. The lights go down, Robert Redford surveys his once glorious ranch, he'll milk his one remaining cow and feed his old horse, then he'll go give Mitch his dope and we will leave the landscape and enter into the brisk, pithy dialogue of two long time friends, one of whom is dying, and the other who feels already dead. Or does he feel dead inside? That would be Einar, the hard bitten, decent guy who lost first the mother of his child, then the grown up child. Einar is off the bottle and Mitch is on the opiates. Cut to Griff waking up in a ratty, tin trailer home somewhere in Iowa. Every morning she packs her bag in case she and her mother have to hit the road. Her mother's been smacked around again (picture J. Lo with a shiner and a make believe sock on the jaw), and Roy feels so bad that she made him do it, again. Mom works in a dry cleaners (now picture J. LO in her synthetic dry cleaner uniform, never mind), it's just another dead end job in a nowhere town, another trailer park and another low life boyfriend. A problem for me was the abuse. Roy comes right out of a case study, but Jean had a real lover in her husband, Griffin, and there is no suggestion in the book about prior abuse, yet Jean is a serial victim. But she's not a victim. Oh, make up my mind. She struck me as self-indulgent, confusing sexual appetite with a sedative (okay, there is that sedative element to sex), but she's independent minded and fairly feisty, too. While I'm at it, Einar never bothered to check out the accident, never even knew his daughter-in-law was pregnant at the funeral. Mitch knew. No, he knew Jean was not to blame, not about the unborn kid. The dramatic tension mounts when Einar and Jean confront, and then there is the bear who shows up again, and there's Roy, and the race card even gets a little play and the book is entertaining as hell and so full of holes as literature that I pretty much concluded the screenplay (written by Spragg and his wife, Virginia) came before the novel.

What I can't understand, given the abysmal state of fiction literacy today, why would Knopf bother to publish a book with the movie coming out two months later? Maybe there was a publishing deal in place before either was penned. The book is alright. I read it in record time; it's a perfectly serviceable read. The human condition isn't intensified or made clearer, I don't think I learned anything and there are no turns of sentence or nuanced language that really soar. Spragg's book is like reading Cormack McCarthy without the big descriptions or quite the high flown melodrama. The writing is direct, clean. Here's Jean when she first sees the mangled Mitch (she'd known him before his meet up with the bear), "She steps in smiling without even breaking her stride. She stares at the mutilated side of his face as she sets the plate on the workbench. Her eyes don't flicker and her smile doesn't wilt." And here is nine year old Griff when she first sees Mitch (also delivering a tray of food), "She walks out of the glare and stops, wincing at the sight of him as though she's been slapped. She stares down at the tray, and he leans back in his chair. He saw the flash of panic in her eyes and imagines her counting the objects on the tray, the glasses, plates, the paper napkins, counting them twice, wishing there were more things to count. He asks, 'Are you feeling dizzy?'" Simple, direct, as I said, entertaining.

I'm seriously guessing the screenplay came first. Mark Spragg wrote at least one other, "Everything That Rises," for TNT, with Dennis Quaid, who also directed. I don't suppose it matters much either way which came first. I wonder about anyone attempting to make movies out of literature, though. THE ENGLISH PATIENT, for example, a good book, not Ondaatje's best writing, not his most brilliant (for that see, COMING THROUGH SLAUGHTER, or, IN THE SKIN OF A LION). The movie version is fine, there was enough to extrapolate from the book to make an interesting film, but most of the novel is lost in the adventure/love story that the movie became. All the stuff Michael Ondaatje has to say, the thoughts and ideas are not in the movie, and they couldn't be. The genres are not at all alike. They tell stories completely differently. One uses actors/dialogue and visuals and sound (music usually), the other uses the imagination of the reader to see what is described, and dialogue is almost extra icing on top of the characters and ideas and the internals of a book. Maybe short stories better lend themselves movies, or lighter weight novels like, AN UNFINISHED LIFE.

-- Copyright J. Stefan Cole

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Join THE NATION INSTITUTE and JANEANE GARAFALO and SAM SEDER of AIR AMERICA's THE MAJORITY REPORT for a giant-screen, live broadcast of the presidential debate at CROBAR in NYC this FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8th.

Doors open at 6:30 PM. Free admission and free food until 8 PM. Cash bar. $10 cover after 8 PM ($5 with your student ID).
Must be 21 or older.

AIR AMERICA will broadcast live on-site with leading progressive
writers and entertainers before and after the debate, including Nation editor KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL, Nation columnist KATHA
POLLITT, actress MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL and others to be announced.

THE DEBATE AND MORE / CROBAR, 530 West 28th Street, NYC / FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8th / NO RESERVATIONS

For those outside the NYC area, organize a "watch with
the sound off" party and listen online at www.airamericaradio.com.

Call 212-209-5400 x5462 for more information

Location:
CroBar 530 West 28th St. New York New York

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

DIG! is a new excellent documentary playing at Sunshine about rival bands Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols. Watching the bizarre, entertaining frontman Anton Newcombe in candid moments is worth the price of admission. (He's also a very nice guy).

Alexander Laurence says: "The real art is the music of Brian Jonestown Massacre and Anton Newcombe." He's right. The Dandy Warhols are mediocre at best. The Brain Jonestown Massacre is one of the most underated bands of the past decade.

Plus, they are generous enough to allow free mp3 downloads. We recommend beginning with Take It From The Man!

DOWNLOAD AWAY

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

An important story was strangely buried in The New York Times Arts section this weekend about the release of the new Pro-Bush, Pro-Crusade, Pro-All-Non-Christians-Will-Burn-in-Hell documentary, George W. Bush: Faith in the White House. The DVD is being released today as counterpoint to Farenheit 9-11. A staggering 300,000 copies will be sent to Christian churches.

A screening of the film was provided during the RNC, but no press was allowed. Seems that Rove and former Christian Coalition Director Ralph Reed (who is now a senior political advisor to our Rapture-ready Prez) prefer keeping their pandering to the church on the down low. A recent Newsweek poll finds that "17 percent of Americans expect the world to end in their lifetime," and Bush's Rapture base will be buying this DVD in droves. The VHS has already sold out on the distributor's website.

Hilarious (if not disturbing) blurb from the website:
Not since the days of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln has a president put so much stock in his Christian faith and prayer life for making decisions and leading the United States in its hour of crisis. According to BBC correspondent Justin Webb: "Nobody spends more time on his knees than George W. Bush. The Bush administration hums to the sound of prayer. Prayer meetings take place day and night. It's not uncommon to see White House functionaries hurrying down corridors carrying Bibles."

In addition to suggesting that Dubya sits at the right hand of the Lord in heaven, the film claims that the administration has vaccinated more than 22 million children in Iraq. Iraq has a population of 25 million. Must be some of that fuzzy math they used to refer to.

The makers also claim that the film is an objective piece of journalism:

"Faith in the White House" purports to be the product of "independent research," uncoordinated with the Bush-Cheney campaign. But many of its talking heads are official or unofficial administration associates or sycophants. They include the evangelical leader and presidential confidant Ted Haggard (who is also one of Mel Gibson's most fervent P.R. men) and Deal Hudson, an adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign" (from NY Times)

Hopefully, Bush's rapture base will all transcend into heaven before November 2.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Radio 4's new record, Stealing of a Nation, came out last month. They'll be playing New York at Webster hall on October 12th. We spoke with the band about the new record in September.

Click Here to keep reading

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

The New York Times made us do it. Last Sunday, in the NYTimes Magazine they declared that bloggers were becoming an important cultural and political voice. Of course, we decided that we MUST follow suit. The Times is always ahead of the curve.

Here's one of our favorite bloggers, Wonkette, discussed in their strangely late-to-the-game article:

In all seriousness, we've decided to go the blog route in order to bring our readers more timely updates. As we have since 1999, we will continue to feature:

-- Interviews
-- Music Reviews
-- Events Listings
-- Politics and media
-- Sausage biscuits
-- Club, Bar, and Restaurant listings
--and of course, random, uneducated stupidity

By morphing into a blog, we will be able to bring information to you quicker, enriching your life and helping to better promote family values on a more timely basis.

Thanks for reading and feel free to send us your thoughts:
send us mail

In the days to come, we'll be featuring interviews with Le Tigre and Radio 4, updates to our bar and restaurant guides, a ferret pictorial, information about our new book, and much more.

Thanks for reading!
FREEwilliamsburg

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Reading that even the biased Gallup Poll is placing Kerry back in the race should hopefully make the obviously nervous Bush campaign even more defensive and unlikable. According to Gallup they are tied at 49%. This article from the Times last week is equally encouraging.

In case anyone missed this article last week about bias at the Gallup Poll, it is worth a peek:

The Gallup Poll asks voters to identify their party affiliation after they tell pollsters whom they would vote for if the election were that day. How the party affiliations compare with poll results among likely voters:

Jan. 9-11
BUSH 55
KERRY 43
Republican respondents 39%
Independent respondents 30%
Democratic respondents 31%
GOP advantage 8%

Jan. 29-Feb. 1
BUSH 46
KERRY 53
Republican respondents 36%
Independent respondents 30%
Democratic respondents 35%
GOP advantage 1%

Feb. 6-8
BUSH 49
KERRY 48
Republican respondents 37%
Independent respondents 31%
Democratic respondents 32%
GOP advantage 5%

Feb. 16-17
BUSH 43
KERRY 55
Republican respondents 32%
Independent respondents 33%
Democratic respondents 36%
GOP advantage -4%

March 5-7
BUSH 44
KERRY 52
Republican respondents 35%
Independent respondents 26%
Democratic respondents 40%
GOP advantage -5%

March 26-28
BUSH 51
KERRY 47
Republican respondents 44%
Independent respondents 23%
Democratic respondents 32%
GOP advantage 12%

April 5-8*
BUSH 48
KERRY 45
Republican respondents 41%
Independent respondents 24%
Democratic respondents 34%
GOP advantage 7%

April 16-18
BUSH 51
KERRY 46
Republican respondents 41%
Independent respondents 25%
Democratic respondents 34%
GOP advantage 7%

May 2-4*
BUSH 48
KERRY 49
Republican respondents 38%
Independent respondents 23%
Democratic respondents 38%
GOP advantage 0%

May 7-9
BUSH 48
KERRY 47
Republican respondents 37%
Independent respondents 30%
Democratic respondents 33%
GOP advantage 4%

May 21-23
BUSH 47
KERRY 49
Republican respondents 38%
Independent respondents 26%
Democratic respondents 34%
GOP advantage 4%

June 3-6*
BUSH 44
KERRY 50
Republican respondents 36%
Independent respondents 27%
Democratic respondents 36%
GOP advantage 0%

June 21-23
BUSH 49
KERRY 48
Republican respondents 36%
Independent respondents 28%
Democratic respondents 37%
GOP advantage -1%

July 8-11
BUSH 46
KERRY 50
Republican respondents 38%
Independent respondents 24%
Democratic respondents 38%
GOP advantage 0%

July 19-21
BUSH 47
KERRY 49
Republican respondents 41%
Independent respondents 23%
Democratic respondents 35%
GOP advantage 6%

July 30-Aug. 1
BUSH 51
KERRY 47
Republican respondents 42%
Independent respondents 23%
Democratic respondents 34%
GOP advantage 8%

Aug. 9-11*
BUSH 50
KERRY 47
Republican respondents 40%
Independent respondents 25%
Democratic respondents 34%
GOP advantage 6%

Aug. 23-25
BUSH 50
KERRY 47
Republican respondents 38%
Independent respondents 29%
Democratic respondents 32%
GOP advantage 6%

Sept. 3-5
BUSH 52
KERRY 45
Republican respondents 40%
Independent respondents 27%
Democratic respondents 33%
GOP advantage 7%

Sept. 13-15*
BUSH 55
KERRY 42
Republican respondents 40%
Independent respondents 27%
Democratic respondents 33%
GOP advantage 7%

Sept. 24-26
BUSH 52
KERRY 44
Republican respondents 43%
Independent respondents 25%
Democratic respondents 31%
GOP advantage 12%

Source: Gallup Polls; those marked with an asterisk were conducted independent of USA TODAY and CNN

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I've been away too long, and Williamsburg looks like it could use an ass-kicking. So, a bunch of people got sick of paying Chelsea rents here and moved across the river to Williamsburg West as the kids call it...

Click Here to Continue Reading

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From BBC
"Cash musical heading for Broadway:


Cash died in September 2003 after complications from diabetes
A musical about the life and music of the late country legend Johnny Cash will be ready to tour the US in 2005 before opening on Broadway in 2006. READ FULL ARTICLE"

Johnny must be rolling over in his grave. "Folsom Prison Blues" was never meant to be set to choreography and jazz hands! We can laugh at all the Midwest housewives coming to NY to see Billy Joel's Moving Out, but please, for God's sake, leave Johnny alone. What's next? A Joey Ramone musical?

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From MSNBC:
Oct. 2 - With a solid majority of voters concluding that John Kerry outperformed George W. Bush in the first presidential debate on Thursday, the president's lead in the race for the White House has vanished, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll. In the first national telephone poll using a fresh sample, NEWSWEEK found the race now statistically tied among all registered voters, 47 percent of whom say they would vote for Kerry and 45 percent for George W. Bush in a three-way race.

continue reading

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

For those of you who suffer from "it" band ADD. Those of you ready for the next buzz band to take the torch from The Strokes. Which was handed to The Rapture. Which was handed to Franz Ferdinand. We present the next torch carriers, Bloc Party. Like The Rapture, they are influenced by Gang of Four. Like Franz Ferdinand, they're cute. (Though not as cute - or as homoerotic). Check them out for yourselves tonight. Free with reservation, thanks to our friends at Flavorpill.

when: Sat 10.2 (11pm)
where: Tribeca Grand Hotel (2 Ave of Americas, 212.519.6500)

make a reservation

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Let's play a little game. Every time you see Jude Law mentioned this fall, count. It's fun. We've already seen him in "Sky Captain." (Well, actually, not a lot of us did, now did we? Which is too bad because it's a really neat flick in a cheesy retro kind of way.) So we'll start counting at two. Keep your eyes peeled. Cos' you never know where he might show up.

Oh, and we'll look at some other movies, too.

Seriously, though, the guy's like freakin' Waldo.

10/1

LADDER 49

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"For the Love of the Fire." Joaquin Phoenix reflects on his life as a firefighter while trapped inside a burning building. John Travolta sits outside and does whatever it is that John Travolta does these days.

WILL IT SUCK?
Hard to say. Director Jay Russell is a master at taking cheesy crap and spinning it into underrated gold ("Tuck Everlasting," "My Dog Skip"). But the screenwriter is more problematic. He did "October Sky." Again, much less cheesy than it could've been. But he also did "Judgement Night," which just sucked. All I can say for sure is that Joaquin will be good.

And it was filmed in Baltimore, my hometown, so, um, whee?

And Mayor Martin O'Malley (or, as my girlfriend calls him, Mayor McCutie) makes an appearance. I think he plays John Travolta's chin.

Early buzz, not so good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Although we are all indebted to firefighters, I don't know that that's going to translate into butts in seats so much as buying one a beer if you have the opportunity. Especially when families will have the option of taking their kids to see "Shark Tale" the same weekend. $27mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If Disney really felt that this was a contender they (a) wouldn't release it against "Shark Tale" and (b) would wait until at least November and give it a real prestige push.

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SHARK TALE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
In a wacky misunderstanding worthy of "Three's Company," a lowly fish (Will Smith) takes credit for killing a major figure in the shark mafia.

WILL IT SUCK?
I liked this better when it was called "Sharkslayer." It just sounded cooler. I've actually seen this and I can tell you that it's entertaining, but basically forgettable. My overall reaction was "meh."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
When it opens, it'll kick "Ladder 49's" ass. However, the following week's competition, though minimal, shouldn't be dismissed if the film fails to perform critically, which it probably will. Kids can just as easily go see a crappy Hilary Duff move as a crappy fish movie. So this will probably end up being a triple instead of a home run. $114mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Will probably go up against its DreamWorks kin "Shrek 2" for best animated, but stands no chance of winning.

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I HEART HUCKABEES

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Existential detectives try to help out a Huckabees (think Walmart) employee align his life.

WILL IT SUCK?
This seems to have shades of "Eternal Sunshine," right down to the mock corporate website (http://www.huckabees.com/). But director/co-writer David O. Russell is no Charlie Kaufman. He is, however, David O'Fucking Russell ("Spanking the Monkey," "Flirting with Disaster," "Three Kings") and he has yet to do anything uninteresting, if not excellent. So if there's anyone besides Kaufman with whom I'd trust this sort of material, it's him.

The cast is fabulous. Former indie it-boy Jason Schwartzman joins Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Marky Mark and Jude Law (TWO!) along with the peerless Naomi Watts.

Critics aren't unanimous, but audiences seem to like it.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The previous week's competition is fairly stiff, from John Waters to "The Motorcycle Diaries," but none of those have the promotion or star power of this one. Not to mention that this release is probably more anticipated than those. People have been talking about this flick for years, back when it was the "Untitled David O. Russell Project," which I believe was a 60's supergroup. $15mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Well, it's better positioned than "Sunshine," for this sort of consideration. Look for screenplay, but probably not much else.

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GOING UPRIVER: THE LONG WAR OF JOHN KERRY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Strangely, a remake of "Whitewater Summer."

No, actually, it's pretty much what it sounds like. Kerry bio-doc focusing on his tour of duty and beyond.

WILL IT SUCK?
Did you like "Pumping Iron"? Same writer/director. And we see how well that did for Ah-nuld. So twenty years from now, Kerry's a shoo-in. Actually, the more important films to consider here are a pair of docs the director did on arctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, which received raves in 2000 and 2001.

And Ben Affleck, in what's sure to be his more tolerable performance of the month, narrates.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I think movie-goers have been a little more interested in seeing films bashing Bush ("Fahrenheit 9/11," "Bush's Brain," "The Hunting of the President,") than directly promoting Kerry, but, then again, there haven't been any films promoting Kerry, so who's to say? If it does well, Kerry can count on that all-important independent moviegoer vote, which comprises about .01% of the electorate. $3mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If Kerry loses, definitely not. Even if he wins, this has a lot of political doc competition which may squeeze it out.

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WOMAN, THOU ART LOOSED

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Hast thou ever heard of the bishop T.D. Jakes? Thou wilst. He playeth himself in this adaptation of his self-help book. In the movie, a woman raised in poverty struggles to freeth herself from addiction. Forsooth.

WILL IT SUCK?
Remember the guy who directed "The Last Dragon"? And "Krush Groove"? And…wait for it…the Fat Boys magnum opus "Disorderlies"? He's back! After directing lots and lots and lots of TV including the "L.A. Law" movie and "Ally McBeal," (a primer for this project), he's joined forces with one of the writers from "Homeboys from Outer Space." Still, this has some nice advance buzz. It won an award at the Santa Barabara Film Festival and six people on IMDB really seem to like it.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
T.D. Jakes actually has a pretty big following. And the book is famous in religious circles. So, if they're smart, Magnolia Pictures will go for a "Passion"-style church-based marketing campaign to get butts in seats. I'd say there's a lot of indie competition, but no one who goes to see this will also be going to see "A Dirty Shame." $5mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
The Christian phenom buzz at the Oscars this year will have A-list talent attached.

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DiG!

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Behind the Music with The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. I love compound band names. My favorite is Lee Harvey Keitel.

WILL IT SUCK?
Mad props from Sundance (Grand Jury Doc) and much love from audiences and critics alike. This looks like THE music doc of the year (all due respect to Metallica).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This has about as good a buzz as possible for a movie about two bands no one's ever heard of. Which is good, because that's about all it's got going for it in a very, very crowded field. $250,000

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
They should, but it's not going to make enough money to make it onto their radar.

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10/8

TAXI

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
All your old favorites are back. Nardo, Wheeler, Tony, Louie, Ignatowski, Reiger, and, of course, lovable Latka. In an innovative move, all roles will be played by either Jimmy Fallon or Queen Latifah.

Actually, this is a remake of a Luc Besson action franchise that was a hit in France, but all roles will still be played by Jimmy Fallon or Queen Latifah.

WILL IT SUCK?
The last time Hollywood remade a Luc Besson action film, it became "Point of No Return." Director Tim Story had better not suck, cos' he's directing "Fantastic Four" as we speak. He did well with "Barbershop," but that had different writers. This has writers from "The State" and "Strangers with Candy," which would be an unusual type of comedy to have in an action film. Refreshing even.

Plus, there's a writer from "Rush Hour," "Stakeout," and "The Hidden," all, in different ways, very good buddy cop films. However, those are the exceptions. The same writer also gave us films like "Snow Dogs" and "Operation Dumbo Drop" in greater quantities. Much as I would like this film to be good, I don't think that's in the cards.

Jimmy Fallon's a decent actor (check him out in "Almost Famous," if you can recognize him) and Latifah's a consistent talent, but that won't be enough to save this.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's not going to have it easy. "Shark Tale," will still be taking in box office and "Friday Night Lights" won't be anything to sneeze at. The following week, "Team America: World Police" will be hitting better comedy notes with it's own brand of action, so this will have to rely on Fallon and Latifah's followings and a better publicity campaign. None of which are negligible. $82mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but really, look back at Fallon's one scene in "Almost Famous." I didn't even know it was him until I'd seen it, like, five times.

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FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
When the economy's down, all you have to look forward to is football. Based on the true story of a team in Odessa, Texas.

WILL IT SUCK?
Writer/director Peter Berg is an interesting cat. His claim to fame is the escapist "Rundown" (which he didn't write), but he's shown his skill with hard-hitting fare like the short-lived TV series "Wonderland" (which he did). So I'm interested to see what he does with this. His co-writer doesn't inspire much confidence ("The Devil's Own," "V.I. Warshawski"), but the trailer actually has decent dialogue.

I'm a big Billy Bob Thornton fan - he has better range than most actors working today, though I don't think this'll be much of a stretch. Derek "Antwone Fisher" Luke is a fine actor as well. The source material comes from author/journalist Buzz Bissinger, who also provided the article that inspired "Shattered Glass," so I'm anticipating an interesting story at least. Color me cautiously optimistic.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There will be no crossover between this and "Raise Your Voice." Other than that, it's got a little competition from "Taxi," which will draw on a similar young male demographic. Ditto "Team America" the following week. But football films often do well. Especially in the fall. Especially if Cuba Gooding Jr. isn't involved. $65mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If "Shattered Glass" can get overlooked, so can this.

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RAISE YOUR VOICE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"Fame" plus Hillary Duff, minus most of the black people.

WILL IT SUCK?
It should shock no one that this is directed by a guy who used to direct "That's So Raven."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Hilary can take even "A Cinderella Story" to significant b.o. $50mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Best song? "Fame" won it.

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PRIMER

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
I love the fact that no one's really saying what this film is about. All that's coming out is that it centers on four friends who invent something revolutionary. Something that threatens to tear them apart. Not gigapets.

WILL IT SUCK?
This year's "El Mariachi." Not because of guns in a guitar case so much as a seven grand budget. Two awards at Sundance, including Grand Jury. And yet the early buzz is very mixed. Some people love it. Some people hate it.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's got about as good a chance as anything else coming out this week in indieland. The positive Sundance buzz should counter the negative advance buzz, until word of mouth sinks it. This means a shorter than usual run for an indie, so they better make their money fast. $3mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
How many Grand Jury Prize winners have ever gone on to be nominated for, much less win, any Oscar? The answer to the first part is two, "American Splendor" (screenplay) and "You Can Count on Me" (screenplay and actress). The answer to the second part is none. And so the likely answer to the main question is no.

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AROUND THE BEND

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Michael Caine begat Christopher Walken, who begat Josh Lucas, who begat some kid you've never heard of. They're all here in this family drama.

WILL IT SUCK?
I think it's going to be cheesy as balls, but the early buzz is good, and it's got the Walken, what more do you need?

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This has the most star power of any indie opening this week, but this type of movie (several generations coming together) has a hard enough time when it's in wide release ("It Runs in the Family" anyone?). $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Chris won an award at the Montreal Film Fest, but that ain't the Oscars, so, no.

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VERA DRAKE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
You know what wasn't so popular in 1950's England? Abortions. Vera Drake performed them on the sly for women in need and got into more than a little trouble for it. This is her story.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is very strong, with the film taking two major awards at Venice, including the Golden Lion and Best Actress (Volpi Cup) for the lead, Imelda Staunton. None of this should come as much of a surprise, as writer/director Mike Leigh is pretty damn consistent.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Mike Leigh is also pretty consistent when it comes to box office, he rarely gets any. In this case, the controversial nature of the film could generate some extra interest, but unless Fine Line is really willing push that and get some op ed pieces in the New York Times, that might not happen. Still, it's interesting to note that this is opening on a Sunday in New York (10/10). A rare move for any film, especially an indie. A clever case of strategery? Who knows? Probably still won't affect the bottom line. $200,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Mike's no stranger to the Oscars. "Topsy Turvy" and "Secrets and Lies" were both nominated for Best Writing and he got a directing nod for the latter. The controversial nature of the film might help generate buzz that the box office won't, but it's a long shot. At best a writing nod, but an acting nod for Staunton isn't impossible.

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STAGE BEAUTY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Remember how in "Shakespeare in Love," women weren't allowed onstage? Well, Billy Crudup plays one of those guys that played women's roles until the law up and changes on him and he has to compete with actual, y'know, women. Gwyneth Paltrow is in no way involved.

WILL IT SUCK?
Buzz is very, very good, and the word "bawdy" keeps coming up in reviews, as if to say it's not as stuffy as you'd expect from a period comedy. In any case, Crudup is a fine actor and should get to stretch a bit from playing lonely outsiders in this one.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This should be one of the stronger indie performers from this weekend as Lion's Gate is getting better at promoting its films. However, the following weekend, other films riding a post-Toronto critical wave, like "Eulogy," "PS," and "Being Julia," will bleed away the b.o. $2mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Two words. "Toot." "Sie." Crudup could be good for a nom.

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TARNATION

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
And you thought Oliver Stone liked to use multiple media. This documentary culls together a man's life from Super 8, answering machine messages, snapshots, video diaries, and more, chronicling 19 years in his relationship with his schizophrenic mother.

WILL IT SUCK?
It's an interesting concept. The guy basically put this whole thing together on his Apple in iMovie for $218. Does that make it a great doc, however? The reviews are mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It won't take much competition to drown this. However, it won't take much for it to break even, either, so… $75,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Probably not. $218 won't even buy you a Golden Globe.

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10/15

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
What "Thunderbirds" should have been. Marionettes making fun of everybody and saving the world from terrorism.

WILL IT SUCK?
This is from the minds behind "South Park," Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Matt's the one with the afro) along with "Bigger, Longer, Uncut" co-conspirator Pam Brady. My guess is, this is probably going to be the best movie of the fall. Yes, even better than "Alexander."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It should feel no heat, except maybe a little from "Taxi's" second frame. "South Park" has a huge following, and at this point in the campaign, audiences will be looking for a nice, uncultured skewering of politicians and celebrities, many of whom apparently die horribly in this film. $53mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Marc Shaiman is doing the music again. Anybody remember Robin Williams singing "Blame Canada"?

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SHALL WE DANCE?

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
No, we really shouldn't. Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere remake a far superior Japanese film about an uptight guy who infuses new life into his marriage by taking dance lessons.

WILL IT SUCK?
Perhaps it's unfair to say that the Japanese original was vastly superior. But I'm going to anyway. This remake is directed by Peter "Serendipity" Chesolm and written by Audrey "Under the Tuscan Truth About Cats and Dogs" Wells. Not the worst pedigree in the world for a romantic comedy, but nowhere near the quality of the original. And though Richard Gere (playing a Chicago lawyer in a film shot in Canada, again) and Jennifer Lopez have actually given outstanding performances in the past, here it just looks like they're going to be annoying as hell. The critics, so far, have said as much.

I will give them credit, however, for casting Bobby Cannavale. He rocks. (Go rent the TV series "Kingpin" right now.)

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I don't think the public is over their J-Lo bashing just yet. Though this can take down "Raise Your Voice" from the previous week, I think more audience members are hoping Lopez will be one of the celebrities killed in "Team America" this week. The following week "Alfie" looks to be a bigger draw for the ladies. $47mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Not with those reviews.

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P.S.

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Laura Linney finds a guy 15 years younger who looks like her dead high school first love and macks on him.

WILL IT SUCK?
Hard to say. Critics are split. The pedigree is decent. Writer/director Dylan Kidd, who worked his magic on "Rodger Dodger" is back in the same roles here, adapting Helen Schulman's novel. The early buzz, though, is that this isn't nearly as seamless as his debut effort. The leads are getting raves, however, but more on that below.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is an extraordinarily crowded indie weekend. "Being Julia" may damn near run the table based on advanced buzz for Annette Bening, but even without that "Eulogy" has been buzzing since Sundance. It'll be hard for this to get a foothold, especially without unanimous critical support. $2mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Laura Linney will probably get a nom, but for "Kinsey" over this. Topher Grace? It could happen. But "Rodger Doger" was ignored, probably because of the low gross.

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THE FINAL CUT
(delayed from last month)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Not to be confused with "The Last Shot," though it will be, this Philip K. Dick-ish tale depicts a future in which microchips in our brains record our lives so that our loved ones can watch a highlight reel of it when we die. Seriously. Robin Williams plays a guy who puts together those reels. Mad conspiracy ensues.

WILL IT SUCK?
Although the early buzz from audiences isn't so bad, and in spite of a Golden Bear nom at Berlin, this is getting slammed by the critics who've seen it so far. I can sort of see where they're going. I'm having trouble buying the premise already. That seems like a lot of effort to please the family of the dearly departed. It's hard enough to afford a decent coffin.

On the other hand, Robin Williams is usually much more interesting in Indiewood than Hollywood, and the supporting cast piques the curiosity - Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel. And the writer/director, Omar Naim, comes from the world of documentary, so he should have a singular take on the concept of cutting up a life. Still, my guess is the critics are going to be right about this one.

"Angel" fans be alert. Stephanie Romanov ("Lilah") is up in here.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Looks like they read last month's preview and moved this to not open against "The Last Shot." Regardless, they're still opening in a mad busy weekend and will be overlooked. $3mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If they didn't think of Robin for "One Hour Photo," which got stellar notices, they won't think of him for this.

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EULOGY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Nothing's funnier than a funeral. Right? Right? Okay, maybe a dark comedy. This one brings together a bunch of family members who proceed to spill family secrets.

WILL IT SUCK?
Critics seem to agree that it's funny, but not much more than a bunch of people tearing into each other (in a funny way). But the people doing the tearing - Hank Azaria, Zooey Deschanel, Ray Romano - you could do worse.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Again, a very crowded weekend. Ray might give it an edge, but the "Everbody Loves" crowd doesn't usually skew this dark. Zooey might actually be a bigger draw for indie fans. $4mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If they didn't give Zooey the love for "All the Real Girls," they won't give it to her for this.

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HAIR SHOW

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Queen Latifah's gonna be in a "Barbershop" spin-off called "Beauty Shop" next year, but this cost much less to make. There's a beauty shop, a need to raise $50,000, a rival beauty shop, and a competition, and just about every other USA Up All Night cliché you can think of, minus the car wash. Probably.

WILL IT SUCK?
It's unclear if the largely sitcom writing experience behind this will be able to deliver anything more than a 100 minute sitcom, but any movie with both Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr. AND Serena Williams can't be all bad. Until you look at the trailer, which flat out sucks.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Crowded weekend, yadda, yadda, yadda. This'll get the short end of it. $800,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but they won't remember "Beauty Shop" next year, so it balances out.

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RIDING THE BULLET

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Hey, remember e-books? Remember the first e-book? It actually sold well! That's probably because it was a Stephen King novella that's now gone the way of all King and made it to the big screen (strangely, as a limited release). Maybe that's because the leads are Jonathan Jackson (Lucky!) and David Arquette. Jonathan gets a ride from David, which would be creepy enough, but apparently Arquette plays a creepy character on top of that.

WILL IT SUCK?
Roughly one in three King adaptations don't suck. This probably won't be one of them. It's got Mick Garris at the helm. He also writes. His best rated screenplay on IMDB? "Batteries Not Included." Not good times.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not a lot of indie fans go around saying, "Let's go see that new Stephen King movie!" Even fewer say, "Let's go see that new David Arquette movie!" Everything about this feels like a straight-to-DVD release, except for the fact that it's actually being released in theaters. My guess is that fans of the e-book will wait until this comes out on DVD and watch it then, maybe on the same computer on which they read the book. $500,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No. But they will remember it on the E-Oscars. Just an idea I'm pitching. I'm still working out the kinks. First I have to write some really bad e-banter for the guest announcers.

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SPIN

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Fledging young magazine must cope with reputation as Rolling Stone's ugly stepsister.

Or coming of age story directed by Robert Redford's son.

WILL IT SUCK?
Probably not. This, of course, is based on what little advance buzz exists. For all I know, Robert Redford's second cousin wrote that review. This is James Redford's debut effort, so there's really very little to go on, unless you've read the Donald Everett Axinn novel upon which this is based. You haven't? Well, a fat lot of help you are.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not as well as if it had been directed by this guy's dad. $100,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Same answer.

BEING JULIA

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
All About Annette.

WILL IT SUCK?
If you ask the critics, yes. If you ask the pedigree, no. This comes from director Istvan Szabo, who, though I've never seen any of his movies, supposedly has yet to make a misstep. Until now, perhaps. The writer did "The Pianist" and "Taking Sides," suggesting a holocaust specialty, but he also wrote "The Dresser," suggesting a facility with backstage drama, which this is. Still, audiences and critics are not impressed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The Oscar buzz still seems to be lingering, despite the reviews. This may translate into a nice indie opening, but not much else. Especially with "Stage Beauty," another backstage drama with much better reviews, already in theaters. $6mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Good buzz for Annette. With two noms to her name already, it seems likely.

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THE DUST FACTORY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Two kids help each other through a difficult time. Armin Mueller-Stahl mentors one of them. Seriously. The actual synopses for this flick are that vague.

WILL IT SUCK?
The writer/director used to work on "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" so it should be interesting to see what he does with more touchy-feely fare. No, actually, it probably won't.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Have you been keeping count? Eight limited releases this weekend! This'll get plowed. $50,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Not so much.

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10/22

SURVIVING CHRISTMAS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Look! It's Ben Affleck! And he's annoying people!

WILL IT SUCK?
Well, the Affleck Suck Parade has been in full swing lately, and judging by the trailer and the choice of directors (two words - Deuce Bigalow), this should follow suit. However, the writers here are deceptively talented. I say deceptively since two of them co-wrote such underrated gems as "Josie and the Pussycats" and "Can't Hardly Wait." The other two wrote for "Duckman," "The Critic" and "The Simpsons," so they're just talented. So how did this team of writers contribute to a troubled set, constant re-writes, and James Gandolfini refusing to come out of his trailer out of woe? Perhaps they didn't. Maybe you should just see if you can download the original screenplay somewhere.

My advice to young Affleck, get thee to an independent film set. And I don't mean Project Fucking Greenlight.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
"Team America" will be serious competition, even in it's second frame. As much as the J-Lo love is lacking right now, it's even harder for Affleck, who kept making movies and stayed in the public eye while that eye got irritated and red and kind of pissed off. Perhaps DreamWorks thought there was something "meta" about Affleck playing a guy who wears out his welcome in a family's home, but watching that isn't necessarily more fun than experiencing it. $7mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Oh, that's a good one.

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THE GRUDGE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Sarah Michelle Gellar moves into a home in which some bad mojo went down years ago. Creepy, grudge-induced paranormal shit ensues. I'll tell ya what the grudge is over. The last season of "Buffy" sucked balls.

WILL IT SUCK?
This is the second remake of a Japanese film to hit screens this month, but it promises to be much better. Give credit to Sony for hiring the original director. Actually, the director first made this as a straight-to-video hit in Japan, whose success inspired his helming a theatrical feature version, so this is his third time directing this damn film. He oughtta be pretty freakin' good at it by now.

William Mapother (a.k.a. Tom Cruise's brother a.k.a. the object of revenge in "In the Bedroom") is up in here, which probably only makes me happy, but I think he's cool.

And in another nice piece of trivia, Jason Behr, who co-starred with Gellar in the "Lie to Me" episode of "Buffy" (back in season two when the show didn't suck so extremely, extremely horribly I hate it soooo much!) plays her boyfriend here.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There's nothing really scary about this October (unless you count the impending elections or half the movies in this preview) so this should run the table for horror fans. "The Ring" it may not be, but it'll pocket some coin. $39mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I mean you don't understand. It was a good show. Much better than you'd expect. But then it started to decay in season four and it was all just downhill from there. I don't want to talk about it anymore.

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ALFIE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Jude Law (THREE!) reprises the role Michael Caine made famous in…Wait. What do you mean you've never heard of "Alfie"? It was nominated for five Academy Awards people! Yeah, I never saw it, either.

WILL IT SUCK?
By rep, "Alfie" is a movie with a whole lotta fuckin'. It's about a guy who sleeps around and damn the consequences (which in the original include not one, but two pregnancies, one of which ends in an abortion). It centers on a pitiful, self-loathing, dark character for whom we feel sympathy, but not the warm, cuddly kind.

So why is the writer/director of the "Father of the Bride" remake up in here?

Maybe it's because he also did a remake of "The Parent Trap." Maybe that's why the trailer comes off looking like "Alfie McBeal."

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Strangely, this stands the best chance of owning its weekend. I think a lot of people would like to see "Alfie McBeal," or at least Jude Law fucking a lot. $52mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Jude might have a shot here, but I think one of his other, less sit-commy performances will get more attention. Maybe "Closer."

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SIDEWAYS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Buddy road movie Alexander-Payne-style.

WILL IT SUCK?
I've actually seen this movie and I can tell you that, no, it does not suck. In fact, it's pretty awesome. Great character study/romance/comedy in the style of 70's character-driven pieces. Great performances from Paul Giamatti, Virginia Madsen (no, really) and that guy from "Wings" (Thomas Hayden Church, not Paul McCartney). Check it out.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is one of the better contenders in Indieville. Paul Giamatti has a decent indie following, and so does writer/director Payne. Remember, "About Schmidt" not only made bank, but it also won Payne a Golden Globe. Of course, that had Jack Nicholson. Marketed right, though, this should still be a significant draw. $20mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Keep an eye on Giamatti. Madsen's kind of a long shot, though. With even more positive buzz than "Schmidt," don't be surprised if Payne makes another run at screenplay and his first bid for director.

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THE MACHINIST

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
It's about time someone made a movie about a lathe worker. Christian Bale plays Trevor Reznik (Trent Reznor much? Seriously, you should see him in the trailer.), a guy who hasn't slept in over a year. Paranoid delusions (or are they really out to get him?) ensue.

WILL IT SUCK?
Probably not. Director Brad Anderson wrote the creepy, underseen "Session 9." Though he only helms this one, it's clear he knows how to establish a mood, which is probably going to be half the battle here. The other half is the writing which, unfortunately, falls to the guy who did the "Texas Chainsaw" remake, though maybe he's learned some stuff since then. Christian Bale looks to be the, um, other, other half of this formula. His performance is supposed to be outstanding. He went all "Pianist" thin for this, which will become important in a couple paragraphs.

Early buzz is positive.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is probably in about as good a position as "Sideways," though "Sideways" has a more crowd-pleasing vibe whereas this is only going to draw people comfortable with the idea of being weirded out. And of that group, everybody who likes Christian Bale. Okay, maybe it's not in quite as good a position. $4mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
The road to Oscar is paved with self-mutilation. Christian may finally win the nom he was criminally denied for "American Psycho" and, of course, "Newsies."

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LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
"Standing in the Shadows of the Blues."

WILL IT SUCK?
Do you like the blues? Pretty much every major living blues legend is up in here, along with Aerosmith and Macy Gray. Early buzz is mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Blues die-hards may check this out, but most people will just wait until "Ray" opens a week later. $250,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If "Standing" couldn't get that kind of attention, this won't. However, I think Antoine Fuqua should get a WTF?!? award for directing this and "King Arthur" in the same year.

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UNDERTOW

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Coming of age story/Domestic thriller, David Gordon Green style.

WILL IT SUCK?
Unfortunately, the early buzz is steering in that direction. Reviews are mixed at best. The rich character growth that Green brought to "George Washington" and "All the Real Girls" is apparently missing here, or misdirected. The natural beauty thing he does so well seems intact, though.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Green's faithful will return, but will likely be disappointed, creating bad word of mouth for the uninitiated. $2mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Green will have to wait until he's finished with "A Confederacy of Dunces" to get that kind of attention.

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SEX IS COMEDY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A while ago, writer/director Catherine Breillat made a movie called "Fat Girl." "Sex is Comedy," which she also wrote and directed, is about a Breillat-like director making a movie just like "Fat Girl." Specifically, a sex scene in that movie. Only problem is, the two actors who have to do it don't like each other.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is ok, but not great.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
In this crowded a field, it's gonna take more than a 92 minute sex scene to put asses in seats. (Okay, if it were ACTUALLY a 92 minute sex scene that probably would be enough). $750,000.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Well, if it were a 92 minute sex scene, they'd remember it at the Adult Video Awards. That close enough?

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10/29

SAW

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Two men wake up chained to opposite walls of a room. They are given two options. Kill the other person or you both die. Sort of like "Battle Royale" on a really, really small scale.

WILL IT SUCK?
Critics are split on this one. They fall into two camps. Those who saw the twists coming and those who didn't. So I guess it has to do with how well you read movies. Either this is the next "Blair Witch" (albeit gorier) or the next "Blair Witch 2" (albeit with less naked chicks). This was Lion's Gate's other big pickup at Sundance (along with "Open Water"). They're getting a rep for indie horror, scoring big with "Cabin Fever" last year. Let's just hope this doesn't fall as short of the hype as "Open Water." A hype which I admit to pimping.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Overrated or not, "Open Water" made $30mil. for Lion's Gate and will probably double that (at least) on DVD. The distributor, who dropped the ball on "Frailty," have since learned how to market low-budget horror. Witness "Cabin Fever's" $21mil. They've decided to go wide with this one, too. With the studio-polished "Grudge" as its only competition, it should get a decent share of the Halloween weekend. $23mil.

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RAY

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Ray Charles biopic. Not to be confused with those Ray Kroc, Ray Milland, and Ray Bradbury biopics you've seen.

WILL IT SUCK?
Audiences seem to like it less than critics, which is unusual for a biopic. But here may be the culprit. Director Taylor Hackford isn't exactly Richard Attenborough. On IMDB, this flick is being rated behind his "Against All Odds" and "White Nights." I have a soft spot for "White Nights," but this is Ray Charles we're talking about here.

On the other hand, everyone seems to be raving about Jamie Foxx, so there's that.

All I can say is, I can't wait to see Curtis Armstrong (y'know, "Booger"?) as Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This is a nice little bit of counterprogramming. Instead of releasing a scary flick over the Halloween weekend, Universal is going for a prestige picture. And there's nothing like it in either direction. Sadly, the recent death of the legend will, in fact, work in their favor. It's not their fault, obviously, although the timing of the release is. I'm sort of conflicted about that myself. Is it a timely tribute, or a shrewd marketing move? Either way, look for this to pull in some serious bank this weekend before "The Incredibles" obliterates everything in its path the following weekend. $59mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
The road to Oscar is paved with what? Foxx reportedly underwent surgery to induce temporary blindness to help him connect with the role. And he arranged to be born black just to get the part. That's dedication, people.

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ENDURING LOVE
(moved from last month)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Rhys Ifans stalks Daniel Craig after both are involved in a ballooning accident. Ifans ("Danny Deckchair") really has to stay away from floating transportation.

WILL IT SUCK?
This is a good match of director and material. Director Roger Michell did a fine job showing two protagonists' lives imploding in "Changing Lanes," and novelist Ian McEwan provided the source material, yet another in his string of works chronicling fucked up familial/relationship dynamics ("The Comfort of Strangers"). The writer is the unkown link, having only penned the little seen and little regarded "Some Voices" a few years back. Early reviews are mixed.

Props on scoring Samantha Morton and Bill Nighy for the supporting cast, however.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
They've certainly moved this to a less crowded weekend, as no other indies are definitely opening then. That, of course, will change, but for the time being this has upped its chances a little. $1mil.

WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No more noms for Samantha for a while, I think.

I believe the children are our future. And by the future, I mean next month. Lots for the kiddies in November. Which is good since roughly half the adults will be very disappointed for 28 of those days.

And to be sure that they're disappointed, I want each and every one of you to go out and vote. And don't give me any of that "I'm a convicted criminal!" or "I'm only seven!" crap, either!

Here endeth the lecture.

--DAVE THOMAS

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)