In Contention on another 'Year of the Woman.' Acidemic's wildly surprising top ten. Erich is his own man as a critic. Which is why I like reading him. BoingBoing life size wax figure of Patrick Swayze in Road House. No really. Playbill if you're in NYC for the holidays, a ton of good shows are closing. Here's your last chance to see them. Movie|Line Mike Ryan looks back at his year interviewing celebrities. The Wrap 25 new films for the National Historic Registry including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Exorcist. Chateau Thombeau Joan Crawford in a loud dress. (love the punchline)
And now from the completely random department, Ranker has a list of the "steamiest incestuous relationships on film" a perfect topic for the, uh, holidays? The list has a surprising amount of good films on it (from Chinatown --um the incest is not steamy. Ewww! -- to The Lion King (yes, really) to The Dreamers). But the obvious exclusion, and you can't really make a list this specific without including it is Close My Eyes which features a very young and constantly naked Clive Owen as a man who just really loves his big sister. Do you love Clive Owen? Like a brother or...
Low Resolution "22 Short Thoughts on Burlesque" #20 is an idea for a sequel that I would entirely fund myself were I a gazillionaire even if I knew I'd lo$e it all. That's how badly I want it to exist. Boing Boing Forged Disney Art on eBay. You really can't cheat with Ursula, the sea witch; people are way too obsessed with that bitch, you know? Cinema Blend Michelle Williams as Marilyn, again. Dear Old Hollywood revisits Joan Crawford's early residences in California. The Hollywood Reporter in praise of Lesley Manville (Another Year) and the Best Actress race. (Though I must say I think the consensus about locks and slots is kind of a mess. I think no one is safe beyond Bening & Portman as there's 5ish strong contenders for the other 3 spots. Thus, no safety.) Serious Film laments the non-adaptation of Harry Potter books in the making of Harry Potter films. Nick's Flick Picks talks up 10 films he liked more than you'd expect. Yet another example of how generous of spirit my pal Nick is, while never losing his critical acumen.
Jeff Bridges - Style Icon GQ has a slide show. I love this photo above wherein he's reading something generically titled "Western Story" given that there is a noticeable west/southwest line running through several of his movies (though he was born and raised in LA which we don't really think of when we think "Western"). FWIW, True Grit starts screening in force in about one week's time so you'll be hearing a lot more about it here and elsewhere soon. GQ That's part of their "Men of the Year" issue which also features James Franco & ScarJo.
Offscreen Hilarity Confessions of a Book Fiend by Grant Snider Hyperbole and a Half "Dogs Don't Understand Simple Concepts Like Moving". I seriously got the giggles while reading this - the very audible giggles. Trying to surpress them for the benefit of my Thanksgiving guests who were still asleep from their food comas did not work. My apologies to everyone roused by my cackling.
It's not intentional but today will be something of a TV day here at The Film Experience -- and to think how we were just bitching about all the false arguments in its favor -- and let's start with this trailer for the HBO Miniseries Mildred Pierce. [thanks to Sebastián for alerting me]
Like Angels in America seven years back, the director, cast and production values allow us to easily pretend that it's really just a feature film in disguise. It's just another part of The Great Convergence because what are today's franchises like Harry Potter and Twilight other than three season'ish long television series with bigger budgets?
YES I'll see anything -- and have seen everything -- that Todd Haynes directs. From subversive queer shorts like Dottie Gets Spanked to the inventive Superstar (the legally troubled Karen Carpenter bio with Barbie dolls) through to Oscar contending films like Far From Heaven and I'm Not There. His films never fail to excite the eyeballs, the intellect and hormones. Some people think he has trouble with the heart portion of entertainment, that his films are too heady, but to this complaint I say [insert expletive]. Even if that were true, better that problem than the far more common cinematic ailments of brainlessness, sexlessness and generic aesthetics.
NO I don't understand the casting of 23 year old Evan Rachel Wood as 34 year old Kate Winslet's nasty ungrateful daughter Veda at all. Aren't they too old and too young for their roles respectively, thus compounding the problem? Believable mother daughter chemistry won't be as important as usual since they're at odds, but still. Not sure I follow this. Plus, I've been aching for Evan Rachel Wood to get out of her bad girl rut. She has more range than this (or at least she once did).
MAYBE SO As much as I love Kate Winslet, performing in the shadow of Joan Crawford's signature role just seems so... foolhardy? It's one thing to star in an adaptation of a novel that's been adapted before. It's quite another to star in an adaptation of a novel that's been adapted before as an immortal and glamorous star's biggest hour.
I'm a yes given Kate + Todd + below the line players like DP Edward Lachman. Though I feel I should note that Todd's regular costume designer Sandy Powell did not work on this -- she told me her schedule conflicted when I interviewed her during the Young Victoria Oscar run.
My current plan: read the book in the next month or two so as not to be thinking of the gorgeous Michael Curtiz noir the whole way through.
Kate in her Emmy winning* role as Mildred Pierce.
You? Have you seen Joan Crawford's Oscar winning take on the Mildred Pierce role? If not, what are you waiting for?
