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Movies
I've been thinking of getting a new alarm clock. This. Should. Be. Perfect.
$40 here.
He was sucha joker.
Jake Sully's avatar has its own avatar. My Brain = Kaboom. Get your Mattel Avatar Erich Segal died this past Sunday at 72 . A Yale classics professor, he also wrote the bestselling book and award winning screenplay for "Love Story"-a film Vanity Fair called, "the first of the modern-day blockbusters"-which popularized the catchphrase "Love means never having to say you’re sorry." The male protagonist Oliver Barrett IV was modeled on a combination of then Harvard students, Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore.
H. G. Wells bitchy review of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" was published in the New York Times in April 17, 1927. Metropolis has been hailed as seminal film with a wide ranging cultural influence. Wells' opinion? Meh, mainly because he sniffs a certain aroma of artistic plagiarism.
Possibly I dislike this soupy whirlpool none the less because I find decaying fragments of my own juvenile work of thirty years ago, The Sleeper Awakes, floating about in it.
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Read this fascinating essay in BLDG BLOG that juxtaposes the Israeli Defense Forces' military tactics in its 2002 incursion into Nablus with New York cop John McClane's (played by Bruce Willis) innovative exploration and adaptive navigation of the terrorist-controlled building Nakatomi Plaza in DIE HARD, or what the writer refers to as "one of the best architectural films of the past 25 years."
If my modern architecture course at 9 am was more like this in school I might have stayed awake more easily.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thsc60UTUIE] New York sketch comedy group Free Love Forum made "Avatar: The Making of the Bootleg," a hilarious parody of the PR buzz surrounding the revolutionary film techniques and breakthroughs in James Cameron's "Avatar."
Seriously though, if you haven't seen Avatar, I couldn't recommend it enough. The visuals are breathtaking and the big battle scene (think: big can of whup ass) alone makes it worthwhile. My only complaint is minor, which is that it was maybe 20 minutes too long. Go see Avatar!
[vimeo=http://www.vimeo.com/2884813] Vimeo lists (in no particular order) their top 25 favorite videos uploaded to their site in 2009. These are some worthwhile videos to watch while you are resting during your holiday staycation.
The teaser poster for Iron Man 2 featuring WAR MACHINE. OH HELLS YES.
Started earlier this year in April, one photographer is posting a snapshot a day for 365 days depicting the daily activities of lowly Star Wars storm troopers.
A day of fun at the beach.
Googling just like the rest of us.
Intergalactic warfare can't be avoided.
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In today's "black people aren't marketable" news, the African American couple (played by Faizon Love and Kali Hawk) in the new comedy "Couples Retreat" were removed from the film's marketing materials including movie posters for its UK release. The studio's whitewashed explanation is that they wanted "to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognisable in international markets." As an apology the studio promised to never ever again make romantic comedies featuring pudgy, pasty older men scoring unrealistically attractive wifeys.
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Seminal Japanese director Akira Kurosawa looking pretty damn dapper back in the days while sporting a hat and sunglasses apparently from John Ford. Based on these pictures, it wasn't just his films that were stylish. I've only seen one of them, but the one I saw, "Ikiru" was a cinematic life changing movie.
"Paranormal Activity" was made for $15,000 and Paramount acquired it for $300,000. It has grossed over $62.5 million so far and has "vanquished four new pictures with combined production budgets of more than $155 million to finish No. 1 at the box office this weekend." How's that script of yours coming along?
At a showing of the documentary "Good Hair" I ran into the executive producer and comedy genius hisself, Chris Rock at the theater! For all the celebrities and public figures I've seen in my lifetime, this is the only time I've been compelled to ask for a photo.
Eric Rice is the grand prize winner (a custom Xbox) of the Where The Wild Things Are fort contest. His fort was built without any nails or screws, just a lot string. This is certainly a more impressive effort than my fort I built in my parents' backyard in my younger days. My fort, if you can call it that was a single plank nailed to a branch which could only be accessed by climbing a rope.
J.J. Abrams rejuvenated the Star Trek franchise with his reboot version this year which was solidly kick ass. Here's the (well edited) gag reel from the set. Who knew Abrams was a chronic beat-maker with the microphone? Tune in around the 2:45 mark. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12S7NQ0NZMs&fmt=18]
So you went to a pricey liberal arts college where your brilliant writing and edgy short student films garnered accolades from MCM professors. With diploma and confidence in hand, you look west to where dreams are made and fulfilled. No, not San Pornando Valley. Hollywood. You head to Los Angeles! You and your Macbook Pro filled with instant hit scripts and concepts. You put your charm to work. Network. You "got out there." Dated the right girl who put you in touch with the right people. Agent is now in your corner. Eureka! Meetings with executives are scheduled. They are thrilled with your pitch about a film that's mainstream artsy like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," but better and with more box office appeal than a Pixar flick. Your Twitter and Facebook statuses are updated with teaser tidbits like "Judd (Apatow) is a cool guy. Meeting went great!" "Waiting in Universal lobby. BStiller is SHORT. lol." And the meetings did go great. You are already thinking about casting Megan Fox, deciding between the Range Rover or BMW, and deciding that Judd is actually a douche. You check your (new) iPhone for that expected green light phone call. Nothing. Radio silence. Eventually they get back to you. "Sorry, but we've decided to go in another direction." A few months later you're walking to your catering gig and spot this movie poster.
"A History of Violence" screenwriter Josh Olson explains in The Village Voice why he "will not read your fucking script."