Hollywood—particularly during Oscar season—functions on the assumption that no trauma has entered the national consciousness until it's been undergone by a flaxen-haired gamine with major box-office draw.Dana Stevens, Slate
A bank once put a sentence deep inside the pages and pages of mandated disclosures: "If you bring this page into the bank we will give you $10." Not one person took them up on it. No one reads that stuff. Almost no one reads manuals, disclaimers, contracts, leases, waivers, any of that dense, boring, small print stuff.
But would you pay attention if it was on You Tube? And less than two minutes?
And funny? Can a video be worth a million words? Visionary cyber-wizard Esther Dyson is offering $5000 to find out. Submit a video explaining cookies, covering:
What is a cookie?
How do cookies work?
How can cookies be used?
How is the data from cookies used with data collected in other ways, including from third parties?
How can cookies be misused?
What options does a user have to manage cookies and their use?
The winner gets $5000 and a trip to Washington DC to attend a workshop at the Federal Trade Commission on "Ehavioral Advertising."
Paul Fahri of the Washington Post did a little investigative reporting and answered a question I have wondered about for a long time. Who are these critics who love all these awful movies? It turns out there is considerable affiliate inflation in movie ads, and small- and mid-market TV critics are often listed in ads as representing the views of their networks.
Marc Doyle, co-founder of the Web site Metacritic.com, which tracks critics' opinions, says the studios prefer the more impressive network title, even if it isn't quite accurate, because would-be film patrons might not be very impressed by a blurb from a reviewer from "some outlet they've never heard of."
But Paurich says titles aren't really important. "This might reflect badly on me and everybody else in this business, but unless you're Roger Ebert, people don't necessarily check the name beneath the quote [in the ad]. The quote is going to matter more to [a moviegoer] than the source of the quote."
As for critics, he says they like to be blurbed: "It's nice to see your name in the New York Times or in a TV commercial. It's flattering. It's still a kick."
I get several questions a month through Allexperts, usually about half-remembered films (many questions begin: "I might have made this up, but I sort of remember..."). I get a big kick out of identifying the films when I can. Sometimes that is not possible -- one recent query could provide no details other than it was a scary movie that included a scene of someone running out of a dark house screaming.
But for some reason, the most frequent movie I get asked about is a minor romantic comedy about a chef with magical powers called "Simply Irresistible." For some reason, people love that movie. I guess it is...irresistible.
Salon has an article with an extended version of a discussion in this month's "Elle" magazine by women film-makers.
The panel was moderated by one of Tinseltown's great brains, producer Lynda Obst ("Contact," "Sleepless in Seattle," "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days"). She nimbly guided panelists Nora Ephron (screenwriter, director, "When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle"), Laura Ziskin (writer, producer, "Hero," "To Die For," "Spider-Man"), Callie Khouri (screenwriter, director, "Thelma & Louise," "Something to Talk About"), Patty Jenkins (writer, director, "Monster"), Cathy Konrad (producer, "Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma"), Kimberly Piece (writer, director, producer, "Boys Don't Cry"), Andrea Berloff (writer, producer, "World Trade Center"), Margaret Nagle (writer, producer, "Warm Springs"), and that rarest of Hollywood breeds, a female studio head, Universal president of production Donna Langley, in a conversation that touched on issues that cut to the heart of the Robinov story. They spoke of the remaining handful of female movies stars as if they were the last hope of the Jedi order -- Luke ... Leia ... Julia ... Reese -- and maybe they are. If these female machers are to be believed, the business of making movies for women remains one of constant juggling between progress and regress, of compensation and compromise.The panel was moderated by one of Tinseltown's great brains, producer Lynda Obst ("Contact," "Sleepless in Seattle," "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days"). She nimbly guided panelists Nora Ephron (screenwriter, director, "When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle"), Laura Ziskin (writer, producer, "Hero," "To Die For," "Spider-Man"), Callie Khouri (screenwriter, director, "Thelma & Louise," "Something to Talk About"), Patty Jenkins (writer, director, "Monster"), Cathy Konrad (producer, "Walk the Line," "3:10 to Yuma"), Kimberly Piece (writer, director, producer, "Boys Don't Cry"), Andrea Berloff (writer, producer, "World Trade Center"), Margaret Nagle (writer, producer, "Warm Springs"), and that rarest of Hollywood breeds, a female studio head, Universal president of production Donna Langley, in a conversation that touched on issues that cut to the heart of the Robinov story. They spoke of the remaining handful of female movies stars as if they were the last hope of the Jedi order -- Luke ... Leia ... Julia ... Reese -- and maybe they are. If these female machers are to be believed, the business of making movies for women remains one of constant juggling between progress and regress, of compensation and compromise.
Two of the best performances I have seen this year were from the same actor, Paul Schneider. In the broody western "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" he played Dick Liddil, the ladies' man of the James Gang. He brought maturity and depth to the seduction of a young wife and the description of his conquests to the other men, both scenes that could easily have been mishandled and become slick or snickery. And in the lovely little indie "Lars and the Real Girl" he plays brother to the title character, who believes that a "fun doll" is his girlfriend. Many actors would not have been able to resist a sit-com vibe in reacting to this gentle delusion, but Schneider again shows a range of often conflicting emotions with great restraint, delicacy, and humanity. I see he is now directing a film based on his own screenplay and that he has assembled an extraordinarily appealing cast, including Paul Giamatti, Billy Crudup, and SNL's Kristen Wiig. Sounds wonderful.
I am really looking forward to "Southland Tales," the much-discussed, often-delayed second film from Donnie Darko
I've seen four movies based on books in the past week and all made me think about the perils of adapting novels to the screen. I once heard Peter Hedges speak about the difference between plays, novels, and movies. His novel, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, was adapted into a fine movie by Lasse Hallström, and he described the experience as a master class in understanding the difference between print and film. He said that novels are about what people think and feel, plays are about what they say, and movies are about showing what the characters think and feel, most often without saying anything.
I did not think much of the book The Jane Austen Book Club. If any other author's name was in the title, it would not have been a best-seller. The movie version is far better, genuinely enjoyable. Feast of Love and O Jerusalem did not live up to their source material. The Dark is Rising, The book that inspired "The Seeker" was so diluted in the final script that it had the same relaitonship to the source material that a homeopathic remedy has to its active ingredient. And the result was less efficacious.
It is not just about the acting. "The Jane Austen Book Club" has first class actors who bring more subtlety and complexity and life to the characters than the author ever did, but "Feast of Love" has Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander, and Greg Kinnear, who all do the best they can but never make the relationships on screen feel immediate or alive. It just has to do with showing, not telling, and "The Jane Austen Book Club" manages that act of alchemy where the others fail.
Recommended new DVDs for kids:
Great Moogly Moogly! The intrepid adventurer and her best friends salute the power of imagination and the joys of friendship.
The last animated film personally supervised by Walt Disney himself has some of Disney's most memorable songs, including "The Bear Necessities" sung by Phil Harris and "I Wanna Be Like You" by the inimitable Louis Prima.
One of the freshest surprises of the summer of 2007 was this animated mockumentary about surfing penguins starring the voice talents of Shia LeBoeuf ("Transformers"), Jeff Bridges, and Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite").
As in Dorothy's famous story, this is the tale of someone who thought found that there's no place like home.
This site has some great shot-by-shot comparisons of Simpsons episodes to the movies that inspired them, including "Citizen Kane," "Steamboat Mickey," and "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Emile Hirsch gives a magnificent performance in one of the year's best films, Into the Wild. I met with him in Georgetown to ask him about making the film.
What does Sean Penn as an actor bring to directing?
He has that whole wealth of experience since he's done it on the actor's side. So you trust him so much. Everything he asked me to do, certain things I was hesitant to do, he did first. He ate squirrel. He went first on the Colorado River. He let me know I could do it. Sean was an incredible director. He let me learn for myself, He helps you bring out the best in yourself and there's no greater gift.
All of the movies Penn has written and directed are in some way about lost children. Why do you think that is?
He is a man of high intellect but also a very keen instinct. A lot of his choices are on an instinctual level in a very pure way. One of the things I admire about him so much is the kind of strong-willed instinct that he has and the confidence to trust that instinct and move forward. Where so many people are in the back rubbing sweaty palms, he is doing it. He wanted to do this movie because he always had a really strong wanderlust, as do I. It was infectuous, the idea that you want to go out and live your life all the way and have more meanng, live it while you have it.
You play a real-life character who died of starvation in Alaska. Did he have poor judgment? Was he self-destructive? Where would he have gone next?
He made a couple of really crucial errors, not bringing things with him like a map. But he purposefully did not bring them because he wanted to shave he margin of error. He shaved it a little too much. He had amazing wanderlust and also had a lot of personal problems.
Did he learn from the people he met or were they just way-stations on his journey to sever all ties?
He was very determined. The people on the road started to open his eyes, but it took the total solitude for him to find himself and what the meaning of his life could possibly be.
It's quite a contrast to go from this film to your next film, "Speed Racer." How do you prepare for such different genres?
The directors of "Speed Racer," the Wachowski brothers, the guys who did The Matrix, have a particular sensibility about performances they expect. It was like being in a sauna for eight months and jumping into an ice bath without a break -- with the lid locked!
Were there elements of the real-life story that were especially meaningful to you in portraying Chris McAndless?
The abandoned bus he lived in, which he called "the magic bus." It was like a waystation, always symbolzing the journey, Where he learns about himself. It symbolizes the question, "Where is he going?" And I read the books he was reading, Walden by Thoreau, Emerson, Dr. Zhivago by Pasternak, Jack London's Call of the Wild. What Chris did was very similar to what Thoreau did.
My colleague from the MMI Film Critic Institute, Jennifer Merin, has established a new About.com Guide to Documentary Films, an immediately indispensible resource for fans of this vitally engaging category of movies. Her initial selection is superb and I was especially glad to see one of my recent favorites, "The King of Kong" on her list. And I'm glad to hear that she'll continue with her work for the New York Press and the online magazine Women on Film as well.
ParentCenter's Peg Rosen has some thoughtful advice for parents about television and families and I am honored to be quoted.
Critics borrowed from the Beatles to express their disappointment in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe.
Contrary to what you may have heard, love isn't all you need.
Ty Burr, Boston Globe
I saw a film today, oh boy. (Headline: Hey Dudes, You Made it Bad)
Sean Burns, Philadelphia Weekly
Nothing is real. (Headline: She can't work it out.)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
And my favorite:
I wanted to turn the sound down on them and say rude things.
J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
(On Rotten Tomatoes, there's a perfect follow-up comment from Captain Siberia: "Then Julie Taymor is that posh bird who gets everything wrong?")
Gmail invited its users to help them create a video about the journey of a gmail message. This collection of the best of what they received is adorable -- I am particularly partial to the sequence of animals, the jive dancers, and the old school flipbook.
Nice going, Dalton Ross! If you are going to put together a list, it's always best to back it up with clips. Best Satans on film: Dalton's (Pacino-free!) list
Nic Bettauer wrote and directed an independent film called "Duck," starring Philip Baker Hall and the duck from the Aflac commercials. We spoke by phone:
Philip Baker Hall is one of my favorite character actors and it was a real pleasure to see him in a lead role. How did that come about?
I’ve been known to try to do things backwards, but in this case there was no way other than protocol. I made an offer through his agent and the system worked. I did not have him in mind while I was writing it because if you picture a patticular actor you get lazy and think of all the wonderful things he could do with the role, but once I’m done, I like to think about what the actor can bring to it, sometimes things I never thought of. With Philip, this was different than a lot of the roles he’s been playing. I like to offer someone something he hasn’t done on every level. That’s how without having a lot of money you take a risk on people. It is also how you make it worth it for them in other ways than money.
His voice is a stunner, it just cuts to the quick, love to have him read the audio book.
When I was writing I tried not to censor myself but then when it got to making it I was like wow. It was important that it was all live, so I went after the best quality duck. We had great ducks and trainers. Ducks are very social. Our "hero duck" #30 was the best listener and we had stand-ins with different personalities. So we would say, "Is this a job for #27 who liked to walk ahead?" or for another who loved to be held. You might have to switch ducks because you could not have it all in one shot. But they were very charismatic. We had to know the ducks and think like a duck in a way. With three different ages of ducks in the movie, we had 1-2 babies, some teenage, and about 6 big ducks, always more than one on the set just in case. At one point we wanted the duck to look grubby but we learned the derivation of the expression "water off a duck's back." They just always look pristine.
Philip Baker Hall is so real and his character's relationship with the duck was like the one I have with my dog, who is my writing partner. Philip plays it so straight. When he was working with the duck he was looking at his alter ego, almost speaking to the part of himself that was keeping him alive. He is almost speaking to himself or treating the duck like a replacement for his son or his wife. As long as he is teaching or learning life is worthwhile, so taking care of the duck gave him a purpose. Now Philip and I have been intellectualizing it but it’s not really the way I think when I write.
I really adore him. He is so interesting. He came in and read. It is problematic not to be typecast when you are so huge on a TV show. He was doing a lot of theater, smaller projects. He was a bit different than I had thought of the character and that is so exciting, it brought so much to the film. People capable of being funny are usually capable of the exact opposite.
The one smart thing I did unbeknownst to myself at the time -- because the movie is a set of vignettes, we would end up filming one additional character a day. Some really interesting people worked with us because we only needed a day of their time. People really came through for us, a nice influx of creative energy, a breath of fresh air each day.
I wanted it to be slightly in the future so that it was a bit of a cautionary tale about where we were headed but still with hope to make a change. I not want to make it so far ahead that it was irrelevant. It is a fable. It’s not what I necessarily predict. At one point he says the President is Jeb Bush. That was not a prediction. I did not want to use a realistic candidate because it would be distracting. By chosing Jeb Bush as the answer I was talking about this administration.
Next is my version of a cop movie, a character piece, an anti-hero cop, and I am currently obsessing over Chris Cooper [to play the lead]. The character says everything I wish I could but shouldn’t in polite company. I would love to keep this character, maybe a series. I grew up on the 70’s NY cop films.
I do think there’s a lot of humor in "Duck." It is a bit surreal, a bit acerbic, a little Sartre. You never know what people will see, absurdist kind of humor but also sad. I like to find the funny in sad, if you can do that in real life you’ll be okay.
Another list.
I don't take these things too seriously. But the fangirl in me has to squawk a bit. Tim Burton's Batman
Looking for something exotic? Still haven't watched that Netflix DVD that's been sitting on top of your television set for two months and want something new right now? Your friends are lovely people, but they'd rather wait for the Hollywood remakes than watch Japanese horror films or French comedies? Try Jaman, where you can download a wide range of independent and foreign films and then discuss them with a myspace-style community. And you won't be tempted to spend $5.00 on 30 cents worth of popcorn.
Charles Fulp loves movies and he loves comics. His day job is being owner of One-Stop Cellular, a chain of independent wireless retailers. But his labor of love, through "Fulp Fiction" is a series of comic book movie parodies.
Fulp spoke to me by phone about the comics which he bills as "More powers than Austin, more flash than Gordon, and more dick than Tracy." In other words, these are not literary satires requiring a knowledge of classical literature to appreciate the subtlety of the puns. These are comics with titles like Harry Johnson and the Case of the Crabbes, "a two-fisted two-pack for one low price of 3.95."
Fulp said, "'Raiders' is one of my favorites. I wanted to write a screenplay that spoofed it in the same way "Austin Powers" spoofed James Bond. I wrote it and could afford to turn it into a comic book but not a movie. I was thrilled to get Dean Yeagle to do character design. He's a Playboy cartoonist -- this was a clever ploy to get invited to the Playboy Mansion. I then approached artists who had worked for DC and Marvel. Next I would like to have it turned into a movie, and I am currently working toward some sort of adult swim animated series or live feature."
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