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From WFMU
Kiss get their first television exposure in 1976 on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special - now on DVD. Stay tuned for some scarrrry disco dancing action with Pinkie Tuscadero (Roz Kelly) as well as such variety show icons as Billy Barty, Tim Conway, Florence Henderson, Betty White, and of course very special co-hosts The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) and Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes).
This should be great. You can't argue with FREE Bass Ale. RSVP at http://newyork.going.com/ripped
In case you haven't heard these guys, they're a lot of fun. Check out their new video.
So much for democracy.
image from HuffPost
Bizarre. [from USA Today]
Owen Wilson is breaking his silence. The actor, who was hospitalized last month for what police called an attempted suicide, has done his first interview. No, it's not with Barbara Walters. He's chatting with friend and filmmaker Wes Anderson, reports USA TODAY's Anthony Breznican.The interview will be posted online at midnight Friday as part of MySpace.com’s Artist on Artist series, according to Fox Searchlight, the studio that released the pair's most recent film, The Darjeeling Limited. Anderson and Wilson have worked together on all of Anderson’s movies -- Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It’s unclear how far the interview, recorded today, will delve into Wilson’s recent personal struggles --- if at all.
Our favorite blog, WFMU's Beware of the Blog, has been doing a countdown to Halloween by featuring vintage low-budget movies. This homemade movie "Up For Grabs" is part of a collection called Monster Kid Home Movies which features backyard productions from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Check out "Zombie Nightmare" after the jump. [Via WFMU]
Yes, James Lipton was a pimp.
Williamsburg has a new superhero.... The Herpes Avenger. [From stdallstars]
So you live in the Williamsburg Greenpoint area? I know you probably love it. I love it too. But you should be aware of some things. Living here is much like living in a college dorm. It's a hotbed (no pun intended) of sexually transmitted diseases. But it doesn't have to be like this. Let's face it, we are a group of creative and educated people. We are a community of psuedo intellectuals and artists. We can do better than this. I started this blog because I contracted herpes and I'm fucking pissed. If you are free of STDs, you should read this blog as a cautionary tale. If you are among the afflicted, maybe you would like to use this blog as a means of venting your frustration. Do you know somehow who is knowingly spreading disease? Send me a picture, I'll be happy to post it.Hopefully this superhero knows how to make herself invisible.... this sounds like a defamation law suit waiting to happen. Read the whole, fucked-up blog here. [Hat Tip Gawker]
We've really been enjoying the new record from Phosphorescent. Moving to Brooklyn becomes him. From Aquarium Drunkard:
Released this week, Pride, the latest full-length from Phosphorescent, finds Matthew Houck and company improving on the recipe that first drew us in (two-plus years ago) with release of his second album Aw Come, Aw Wry. An Elephant 6 like mixture, filtered, through, say, Bonnie Prince” Billy, it became one of our favorite LPs of 2005. Now part of the newly minted Dead Oceans label, and having moved from Athens, GA to his new home of Brooklyn, NY, Phosphorescent tightens things up creating his best work to date.
You can download a couple of tracks here.
In case you missed it, this is pretty damn funny:
The always generous Aquarium Drunkard has it here. From Aquarium Drunkard:
Like Harvest Moon, and most recently Prairie Wind, (both of which, odes and/or continuations of themes and motifs originating from 1972’s Harvest) Neil Young returns to retail shelves next week with Chrome Dreams II; a nod to his mid-seventies album, of the same name, which, sadly, never saw the light of day. In lieu of an intact Chrome Dreams, Young purloined songs from the album scattering them over various projects (see: American Stars ‘N Bars, Rust Never Sleeps).Neil is quoted as saying Chrome Dreams II is “more like After The Goldrush or Freedom, with different types of songs working together to form a feeling. Now that radio formats are not as influential as they once were, it’s easier to release an album that crosses all formats with a message that runs through the whole thing, regardless of the type of song or sound.” ... What you see below is a bootleg acetate version of what is thought by many to be the original track listing for Chrome Dreams just prior to Young scrapping the project in 1977.
While the rest of the city is wallowing in CMJ hell tonight, we'll be checking out M.I.A. at the brand spanking new club Terminal 5. The club has 3 floors and the sound was great at last week's National show. And unlike other clubs in the city, there are enough bars at Terminal 5 to keep you from waiting for a half hour for an overpriced Heineken. M.I.A. will be playing with Baltimore's Rye Rye [think a tamer Yo Majesty] and DJ Blaqstar. Here's an interview with the ridiculously cute M.I.A. on "The Hour" with George Stroumboulopoulos (not to be confused with George Stephanopoulos):
Information about Terminal 5 can be found here.
We loved the first covers record and can't wait to hear Jukebox on January 22 (when its released). CCR's "Fortunate Son" should be especially interesting. Here's the full list: [via Pitchfork]
01 Theme From 'New York, New York' (Kander/Ebb; popularized by Frank Sinatra/Liza Minnelli)
02 Metal Heart (Cat Power)
03 Ramblin' (Wo)man (Hank Williams)
04 Song To Bobby (Cat Power-- new song)
05 Aretha, Sing One For Me (J Harris/Eugene William; originally sung by George Jackson)
06 Lost Someone (James Brown)
07 I Believe In You (Bob Dylan)
08 Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
09 Silver Stallion (Lee Clayton)
10 Dark End of the Street (Chips Moman/Dan Penn; originally sung by James Carr)
11 Don't Explain (Billie Holiday)
12 Woman Left Lonely (Spooner Oldham/Dan Penn, popularized by Janis Joplin)
We find Dave Eggers to be a visionary editor and publisher (McSweeney's) while being an extremely annoying writer (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius). Because of the latter, we're delighted to hear good things about his screenplay for Where the Wild Things Are. From The Vulture
In transforming the 338-word story of Where the Wild Things Are into a 111-page screenplay, Eggers and Jonze have fleshed out the story not, unexpectedly, with wild plot developments, and not, thankfully, with densely packed pop-fiction references. Instead Where the Wild Things Are is filled with richly imagined psychological detail, and the screenplay for this live-action film simply becomes a longer and more moving version of what Maurice Sendak's book has always been at heart: a book about a lonely boy leaving the emotional terrain of boyhood behind....The Vulture's got more details here. And we've got the original animated version after the jump.We were deeply nervous about anyone taking on a story this beloved yet difficult, even talents like Eggers and Jonze, but this screenplay -- if it hasn't been changed too dramatically since October 2005, when it was turned in -- goes a long way toward reassuring us that this movie, which is coming out in 2008, will be something special.
And we thought the neighborhood reeked because of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. From the Observer
Here's Hillary Clinton entering Cono & Sons, a restaurant in Williamsburg. At the door she greeted Vito Lopez, before going inside to receive the endorsement of the Kings County Democratic Party.[Thanks Kevin]"She's paying her respects, which I think is a very good characteristic," Lopez said about her visit.
It's shameless self-promotion of course (since his book is about to come out) but Stephen Colbert penned Maureen Dowd's column yesterday. Here's a sample:
Surprised to see my byline here, aren’t you? I would be too, if I read The New York Times. But I don’t. So I’ll just have to take your word that this was published. Frankly, I prefer emoticons to the written word, and if you disagree :(I’d like to thank Maureen Dowd for permitting/begging me to write her column today. As I type this, she’s watching from an overstuffed divan, petting her prize Abyssinian and sipping a Dirty Cosmotinijito. Which reminds me: Before I get started, I have to take care of one other bit of business:
Bad things are happening in countries you shouldn’t have to think about. It’s all George Bush’s fault, the vice president is Satan, and God is gay.
There. Now I’ve written Frank Rich’s column too.
It's not our style to get preachy about what people eat, but the inconvenient truth about Al Gore's green campaign is that factory farming is more responsible for global warming than SUVs. It's a fact he's afraid to discuss. From the NY Times
In late November, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization issued a report stating that the livestock business generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined..."We know that vegetarian organizations have sometimes made exaggerated health and environmental claims, but that U.N. report is an impartial, unimpeachable source of statements we can quote," said Matt Ball, executive director of Vegan Outreach.
Like Mr. Prescott, Mr. Ball is incensed that high-profile people like Al Gore -- or environmental groups with deeper pockets than his -- have not stepped up to the plate.
"Al Gore calls global warming an existential risk to humanity, yet it hasn't prompted him to change his diet or even mention vegetarianism," he complained. "And I guess the environmentalists recognize that it's a lot easier to ask people to put in a fluorescent light bulb than to learn to cook with tofu."...
Mr. Gore declined to make himself available for comment.
And here's the report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
[Thanks Pete]
Our friend, Ian Cheney's, new documentary King Corn is premiering tonight at Cinema Village. If you liked Supersize Me and Fast Food Nation, King Corn will be right up your alley. The Boston Globe calls it "enormously entertaining" and The New York Times featured it yesterday here.
Where: Cinema Village
When: Opens tonight. The film is only scheduled to be at Cinema Village for four days, unless enough people go to see this important film. Help to extend the run and buy your ticket now.
KING CORN tells the story of two friends, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. As the film unfolds, IanCheney and Curt Ellis, best friends from college on the east coast, move to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America's most-productive, most-ubiquitous grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they questions about how we eat--and how we farm
This is fucking disgusting. From Gridskipper
The smell, which comes from the nearby Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant, arrivedsix weeks agoages ago and has somehow gotten worse in both smell and intensity this month.A friend of Gridskipper and Greenpoint resident describes it thusly, "It's smells like your grandma is cooking a meatball stew, but instead of meatballs it's crap and it's blowing right through your window." AM New York has a piece today saying that the smell is not likely to go away for a couple more years. The DEP tells them they are replacing key pieces of equipment and the smell will go away in '09 when "the thickening centrifuges will be in full operation."
We're excited about tonight's show at Terminal 5. The National have become a staple, but we're yet to see the wonderful St. Vincent live. Her record, Marry Me, is among our favorites of the year. Here's St. Vincent performing The Beatle's "Dig a Pony" in a cab [via The Daily Growl]
The media keeps reporting that Hillary's appeal is widening (despite the cackle). If you're contemplating jumping on the Hillary bandwagon, we recommend you read this excellent piece by Maureen Dowd on the Senate's latest vote on Iran (which Hillary supported.)
And if you missed it, Seymour Hersh has a great article in The New Yorker about "the Administration's plan for Iran."
Our hero, Mike Gravel, sums up Hillary's Iran vote pretty nicely here:
Could this guy be any more dumb? Rumproast has the story. Meanwhile, Nixon thought Fred Thompson was "dumb as hell." [hat tip HuffPost]
Now that a mass exodus out of NY is officially underway—who doesn't know at least one person who has relocated to San Francisco or another large city in the last few months—our friends at cakehead remind us why we still love Williamsburg with a list of Essential Williamsburg, Brooklyn Culinary Experiences. Check it out here.
Michael Clayton
So that Cusack movie I promised you got delayed until December. Apparently they think it has an Oscar shot, too. But there's still lots of... well... actually, this month's pretty lame.
October 5
THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Another kids'-fantasy-novel-series-turned-franchise-hopeful.
WILL IT SUCK?
Am I the only one with that Who song stuck in my head now? From the director of the, erm, controversial Path to 9/11 miniseries, so watch for the part where they blame Clinton for the rising of the dark. From the writer behind early Danny Boyle efforts Shallow Grave through The Beach, so, there's that. Doctor Who fans should keep an eye out for Christopher Eccleston as "The Rider."
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will play Bridge to Terabithia to Golden Compass' Narnia. $41mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Like I said, Terabithia, not Narnia.
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THE HEARTBREAK KID
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The Farrelly brothers remake that 1972 flick you never saw.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. The brothers haven't made anything as effective as There's Something About Mary since, but they're consistent. Ben Stiller reteams with them, but this doesn't look like it will add anything to the Meet Something About Polly subgenre he's established.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Stiller owns this genre: $89mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but if you wanna see Stiller give an Oscar-worthy performance, check out Permanent Midnight.
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FEEL THE NOISE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Sadly, not a film version of the Quiet Riot hit (originally by Slade, who knew?).
WILL IT SUCK?
One good early review. Otherwise looks to be Save the Last Stomp the Step Served Up.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
There's nothing else for the kidz. $21mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but can we put Giancarlo Esposito, who stars as "the dad" in this, back in some Oscar-caliber shit?
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MY KID COULD PAINT THAT
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Four year old Marla Olmstead painted abstract art worth hundreds of thousands of dollars...or did she?
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz on this doc is mad good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Doc-wise, pretty much has the field to itself. And after winning a bidding war for it at Sundance, you can bet Sony Pictures Classics is going to advertise the hell out of it. $1mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I can see this easily making the short list for docs.
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FINISHING THE GAME
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Mockumentary about an attempt to complete Bruce Lee's unfinished Game of Death.
WILL IT SUCK?
For the first time since Better Luck Tomorrow, it looks like Justin Lin has directed a film that won't suck. Not to mention the presence of 21 Jump Street's Dustin Nguyen. Ioki, motherfucker! Based on actual events surrounding the cynical efforts to finish the film Bruce Lee was making when he died. Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Way outmatched. $750,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but if you haven't seen Better Luck Tomorrow, it's worth a look.
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THE GOOD NIGHT
(Delayed from September)
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Martin Freeman dreams about Penelope Cruz, like, a lot.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed. Nice cast, however: Gwyneth Paltrow (director's sister), Simon Pegg and Michael Gambon are also up in here.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Good cast but not nearly enough buzz. $250,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
If Science of Sleep didn't make it...
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WEIRDSVILLE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
After Hours with more drugs.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good, placing this somewhere between Pump Up the Volume and Empire Records in the Allan Moyle canon.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Better on DVD. $750,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
The Academy has yet to embrace the drug comedy genre.
-------------------------------
MICHAEL CLAYTON
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
George Clooney plays a lawyer who specializes in cleaning up messes.
WILL IT SUCK?
It's the good shit. Bourne go-to-adapter Tony Gilroy directs with a serious hard on for 70's cinema. Clooney, Wilkinson, Swinton and Pollack all turn in solid performances.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
A heavy hitter in a thick indie season. $32mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Although Clooney carries the film well, it's Wilkinson who's the shoo-in for a nod. Gilroy could be looking at writing and directing nods before we're through.
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NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Indian woman returns to Scotland to save her deceased father's failing restaurant.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed. From the screenwriter of Dear Frankie.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Too. Many. Movies. $250,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Too obscure.
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October 12
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WE OWN THE NIGHT
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The Michelob Story? C'mon. I can't be the only one who remembers this. Anyway, Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix team up to fight some mobsters or something.
WILL IT SUCK?
Very mixed reviews for this one from writer/director James Gray, who's covered this material before with Little Odessa and The Yards (the latter of which also starred Marky Mark and Johnny Cash).
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Gone Baby Gone might be a wee bit of an issue the following week, but this should hold its own. $65mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
In spite of a Golden Palm nod at Cannes, reviews stateside are kind of tepid for that.
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ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Queen Elizabeth vs. the Spanish Armada
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is very mixed. Some say this sequel, which reunites Cate Blanchett with director Shekhar Kaphur and writer Michael Hirst (throwing in Gladiator co-scribe William Nicholson for fun), surpasses the original, while others find it to be a lot of pomp without any circumstance.
Geoffrey Rush is back, too, joined by Clive Owen and Samantha Morton, so my curiosity is piqued. And, yes, Kaphur is planning on a third act.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I don't see this as a wide release. $31mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Likely, but I don't see this packing as much of a punch as the original.
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TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED?
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Four married couples soul-search in the Colorado mountains.
WILL IT SUCK?
No more than any other Tyler Perry movie. Notable for the film debut of Jill Scott and the post-wardrobe-malfunction debut of Janet Jackson.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
No real competition. $32mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
That's probably still a long way off.
-------------------------------
SLEUTH
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Remake of the 1972 classic battle of wits between a man and his wife's lover.
WILL IT SUCK?
Again, mixed reviews. Audiences love it more than critics, with IMDB users ranking it as director Kenneth Branagh's best since Henry V. Jude Law and Michael Caine take over for Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier, respectively, with a screenplay from no-slouch Harold Pinter.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It'll be an interesting tension between middling reviews and the fan base for Law, Caine and Branagh to see how this opens. $4mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
This is the type of movie tailor-made for acting nods, but without better reviews, that doesn't seem likely.
-------------------------------
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Ryan Gosling gets it on with a doll, yo.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good, in spite of the fact that this is from Mr. Woodcock helmer Craig Gillespie. Probably tempered by the fact that Six Feet Under writer Nancy Oliver did the screenplay. Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer and Paul Schneider are up in here, too.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
More quirky comedy coming from Wristcutters the following week, but I can see this catching on. $6mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I doubt Gosling will get two nods in a row, but it would be awesome if the doll got a nod.
-------------------------------
CONTROL
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis biopic. Think of him as the Kurt Cobain of New Wave.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is ex-truh-emely good. The directorial debut of photographer (think the cover of The Joshua Tree) and music video helmer Anton Corbijn. Samantha Morton plays Curtis' wife, who wrote the biography on which this is based.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not a huge Joy Division contingent out there, much as there should be. $2mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I can conceive of the lead being an outside shot, and Samantha Morton is always good Oscar bait.
-------------------------------
THE FINAL SEASON
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Small town baseball team makes good.
WILL IT SUCK?
Well, you've got the director of The Sandlot, which, apparently, a lot of people liked. He did Beethoven's 3rd and 4th as well, which, not so much.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This feels like straight-to-DVD. $500,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
I'm liking the casting of Powers Boothe and Sean Astin, but no.
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October 19
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30 DAYS OF NIGHT
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Fighting vampires in a part of the world where night lasts for the title.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. I like the choices they've made here. You've got Hard Candy's David Slade directing and Stuart "the other guy who wrote the Pirates flicks" Beattie co-writing the screenplay with the co-author of the graphic novel, among others. I like Ben Foster and Danny Huston being up in there, too.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Saw IV will crush it next week, but this weekend it has the genre all to itself. $34mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Still no vampire Oscars.
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RENDITION
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Husband gets snatched by the gub'ment. Wife goes after him.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is not so good. Which is too bad since it's a great topic, decent cast (Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Saarsgard, Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin) and great director (Tsotsi's Gavin Hood).
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The best thing this movie has going for it is its cast. $49mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Maybe with better reviews.
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THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Benecio Del Toro helps recently widowed Halle Berry deal with loss.
WILL IT SUCK?
From After the Wedding director Susanne Bier. Not much to go on here, but I've gotta admit, the trailer's a snoozer.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Should have been a limited release. $22mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
This is the type of movie that was made for the fact that you can say Academy Award Winner twice in the trailer.
-------------------------------
GONE BABY GONE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The search for a missing girl in Boston.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is extremely good. I say that knowing full well this is the directorial debut of Ben Affleck. He also co-wrote the script, as he did with Good Will Hunting, which didn't exactly suck. Casey Affleck, Michelle Mognahan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman star.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
We Own the Night might be a bit of an issue. $36mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Depends how well the buzz holds up. I still can't wrap my mind around a directing nod for Ben, but the only question about his brother seems to be will he get a nod for this or Jesse James?
-------------------------------
THE COMEBACKS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Sports Movie
WILL IT SUCK?
You'd think a guy named Tom Brady would be the perfect choice to direct a sports movie spoof, until you realize he also directed The Hot Chick. Oh, and he's going to direct the Welcome Back, Kotter movie, too.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
More comedy from Steve Carrell the following week, but this should be in the range of Epic or Date Movies. $30mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
No, but tell me that the movie that started it all didn't deserve a Best Picture nod.
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SARAH LANDON AND THE PARANORMAL HOUR
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Harry Potter/Nancy Drew rip.
WILL IT SUCK?
I'd say it's just the marketing that leads to the above assessment, but the acting looks crappy, too.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not sure this'll have the market penetration to hit the family demo it's going for. $1mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Worst Acting in a Trailer. Seriously.
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RESERVATION ROAD
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Joaquin Phoenix tries to find the man (Mark Ruffalo) who killed his son in a hit-and-run accident.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is split between audiences who seem to like it and critics who find it to be so much over-the-top implausible melodrama. Myself, I'm getting a House of Sand and Fog vibe off of this one, and that's not a good thing.
From Terry George, who did Hotel Rwanda (which I liked, but didn't love), and co-wrote the screenplay with the author of the novel on which this movie's based.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Surprisingly, not that much competition in the heavy-hitting drama category right now. $18mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
This is tailor-made for that (three of the four leads have Oscar nods, and two have wins). But I don't see it happening.
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WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A guy tries to find his ex after killing himself and going to purgatory.
WILL IT SUCK?
It's actually very sweet. And very funny. And, as you might expect, kind of weird. More here.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Second frame of Lars might cut into this a little, but overall the vibe I get from this is that it will gain its cult cred on DVD. $2mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Best Opening Line. "After I died, I got a job working at Kamikaze Pizza."
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October 26
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DAN IN REAL LIFE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Dan (Steve Carell) goes to his family reunion and falls for his brother's (Dane Cook) girlfriend (Juliette Binoche).
WILL IT SUCK?
Writer/director Peter Hedges lives and breathes this stuff. His Pieces of April covered similar ground. It's almost enough to make me ignore the unbelievably cheesy trailer.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Evan Almighty proved that Carell's not invulnerable. Then gain, even The Family Stone made some bank. $61mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Hedges directed Patricia Clarkson to a nod in April, so it's not out of the question.
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SAW IV
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
More torture and shit.
WILL IT SUCK?
It'll be interesting to see what Feast writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan do with the material. (There's a Feast 2 and 3 on the way for some reason, by the way.) Same director as II and III. Oh, and Jigsaw's dead, right? Yeah, interesting to see what they do with that, too.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The closest thing you'll get to a blockbuster this month. $81mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Most Punctual Franchise? Seriously, every Halloween they're Johnny-on-the-spot with that shit.
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RAILS & TIES
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kevin Bacon forms a bond with the kid who's mom used his train to commit suicide.
WILL IT SUCK?
Directed by Clint's daughter, Alison Eastwood. No pressure. Early buzz is mixed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
In a very crowded season, I'm not sure anyone besides Clint knows about this one. $1mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
It took her dad a long time before the Academy started looking at him as a director. Of course Coppola's daughter got the nod on her second flick.
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BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Two brothers conspire to rob their parents.
WILL IT SUCK?
Sidney Lumet at the helm. As often as not a good thing. Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Need more buzz. $1mil.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Looks like a juicy role for Philip Seymour Hoffman, but it's not like he's due.
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JIMMY CARTER MAN FROM PLAINS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Jimmy Carter goes on a book tour. Jonathan Demme watches.
WILL IT SUCK?
Demme is an accomplished documentarian, and the early buzz seem to say that streak continues, with one critic liking the film better than the book Carter was promoting.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Political doc Darfur Now will likely trump this political doc next week. $500,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Most Grammatically Troublesome Title.
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MUSIC WITHIN
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A deaf guy and a guy with CP go around solving mysteries. Okay, actually they help create the Americans With Disabilities Act, but I like my plot, too.
WILL IT SUCK?
Really not much known about the writers or director. Ron Livingston and Michael Sheen should make a good leads, and the presence of Clint Howard makes any movie better.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Even with my brilliant mystery-solving premise, this film would need better marketing. $750,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Both leads have disabilities? That's like Oscar gold! But will enough people see it?
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THE SIGNAL
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A mysterious signal is broadcast over all airwaves that basically says "you go kill now."
WILL IT SUCK?
Three writer/directors tackle the three acts of the film. The concept works, according to early buzz.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Why are they opening this against Saw IV? Do they not like themselves? $500,000.
WILL ANYBODY REMEMBER IT AT OSCAR TIME?
Can we just have a separate Horror category? There's still enough good product being made to make it worth it.
Next Month: Two projects with years of buzz behind them, but only one with naked, CGI Angelina Jolie.
-- Dave Thomas
Thanks Cakehead.
This is hilarious. There's extra footage after the commercial. Thanks Rumproast!
Christ. We can't wait to get these pigfuckers out of office. From the NYTimes:
When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations. But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales's arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.
Mr. Gonzales approved the legal memorandum on "combined effects" over the objections of James B. Comey, the deputy attorney general, who was leaving his job after bruising clashes with the White House. Disagreeing with what he viewed as the opinion's overreaching legal reasoning, Mr. Comey told colleagues at the department that they would all be "ashamed" when the world eventually learned of it.
Later that year, as Congress moved toward outlawing "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment, the Justice Department issued another secret opinion, one most lawmakers did not know existed, current and former officials said. The Justice Department document declared that none of the C.I.A. interrogation methods violated that standard.
The classified opinions, never previously disclosed, are a hidden legacy of President Bush's second term and Mr. Gonzales's tenure at the Justice Department, where he moved quickly to align it with the White House after a 2004 rebellion by staff lawyers that had thrown policies on surveillance and detention into turmoil.
We've been loving their latest record Hymns for a Dark Horse, and tonight they're doing a free show at Soundfix at 8pm.
Download:
In our Talons
Dark Horse
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bowerbirds
This is a clip from Todd Haynes upcoming Bob Dylan movie, I'm Not There. The scene stars Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan and David Cross as Allen Ginsberg. The film will premiere Thursday at the New York Film Festival.
From Paste
The film's cast list is jaw dropping, bearing big names like Cate Blanchett (as one version of Dylan, above), Richard Gere (Dylan again, but this time doing his best "Billy the Kid" impression), and Heath Ledger. But even more impressive is the soundtrack that includes some of the most influential artists in music today. From Eddie Vedder to Stephen Malkmus, Iron & Wine to Sonic Youth, Jeff Tweedy to Charlotte Gainsbourg.
And here's a longer clip featuring Christian Bale singing a gospel tune, after the jump:
