Figuring out a more natural way to present the playing of music with an assist from the French New Wave directors in “A Hard Day’s Night.”
Moving from enormous charm to more visual sophistication and a new color palette in “Help!”
It’s important, of course, to acknowledge the contribution to these scenes of two great cinematographers, Gilbert Taylor and David Watkin. The Beatles were also kind of helpful.
You may not have heard it, but the movie world’s been shifting on its axis over the last few days. It might not be very pretty.
* Dick Cook, the Chairman of Disney who doesn’t get nearly the amount of press of CEO Bob Iger, resigned just before the start of Rosh Hashanah last Friday night. In the inevitable “did he fall or was he pushed?” argument, the “push” side seems to have the edge and the repercussions are significant, but not completely clear.
The short version seems to be that Cook and Iger simply had different views on too many issues and that the movie side of Disney, Pixar aside, hasn’t been doing quite as well lately as some would like. Cook was, however, apparently rather well liked by such superstars as Steven Spielberg and Johnny Depp, and that might have an impact on such issues as whether not they’ll be a fourth “Pirates” movie. Marc Graser of Variety has more — including the tantalizing suggestion that the job might be Pixar head John Lasseter’s to turn down. Of course, Nikki Finke has yet more of the seemingly endless lowdown.
* Speaking of Disney and its famous recent acquisition, there’s a second lawsuit similar to the one that wrapped a while back regarding the rights to Superman — or not. Let’s just say it’s from the same lawyer and this time the target is Time Warner/DC Comics competitor, the newly Disnified Marvel Entertainment. As described by Nikki Finke, who picked up the story from the comics site Bleeding Cool, this time the creator in question is the late, great Jack Kirby, one of the most respected figures in all of comicsdom and the co-creator with Stan Lee of many of Marvel’s best known characters including the Fantastic Four and the Mighty Thor. (He also co-created Captain America with Joe Simon just months before America’s entry into World War II.) There’s a long history on the whole issue of Kirby’s role in creating these comics in relation to Stan Lee, and there are a number of issues here. Like anything legal, it gets pretty thorny and there’s some pretty “lively” debate among the commenters at Deadline Hollywood.
* Perhaps most significant of all, reporter/blogger Anne Thompson has written a post that’s sent shockwaves through the online film world and probably the actual film world as well — though the news itself is known to those affected. She concisely entitled her post-festival piece “Toronto Wrap: Indie Bloodbath.” The villain here seems to be, at least partly, rising marketing costs — though I’d like someone to explain to me why they are rising as we’re coming out of a recession with a more or less jobless recovery. Nevertheless:
It costs too much money these days to make a dent, a mark, an impression that will create enough urgency in filmgoers to make them go out and see a movie. While Ted Mundorff insists that business is up at indie-branded Landmark Cinemas around the country, and Apparition’s Bob Berney is hopeful that exec changes at Cinemark and AMC will bring a new awareness to booking the right movies in the right locations, the indie market needs help.
With the exception of the high profile deal for a “A Single Man” last week, very little business got done in Toronto and struggling indie filmmakers are, rather than selling their films, paying to have their films released. Terms like “tectonic shift” are being bandied about. Via David Hudson/The Auteurs Daily, we have reaction from my personal movie Yoda, Roger Ebert and Vadim Rizov, who comments on Universal’s recent troubles and its ensuing spending freeze.
The irony is, of course, that all of this comes after a very successful movie summer. Another chapter, I suppose, in the ongoing realignment of all media, though the timing sure seems odd. Movies will survive, but it’s a most definitely a tough time for all but the most micro-budgeted of indies and the big budgeted productions of ordinary Hollywood, and life’s not exactly a feather-bed for them, either.
UPDATE: Also via The Auteur’s Daily, apparently there’s been some delayed Toronto-related action and some blood just got mopped off the floor. And a little more. Things are, I’m sure, still bad, but perhaps the mood might be a hair less apocalyptic for larger indies.
You’ll want to watch the DVD of writer-director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s acclaimed feature debut on the biggest television set you can find. That’s not only because this film is full of astonishing Latin American location work from a newcomer with a stunning camera eye, but also because Universal saw fit not to make new subtitles for the DVD version of the film, leaving us with only the tiny, eye-strain inducing subtitles from the theatrical release. That technical annoyance aside, this blend of social drama, action-thriller and love story unites American filmmaking slickness with what feels like an insider’s view of the brutal travails of Central American immigrants and the sickness of life inside today’s gangs. The story brings together a heartbroken Mexican gangbanger on the run (Marco Antonio Aguirre) and an innocent Honduran teen (Paulina Gaitan) trying to unite with family in New Jersey in an involving and violent story that does a fine job of humanizing the “illegal immigrants” that fill the fevered imagination of America’s right wing.
On his first feature (produced by the “Y Tu Mama Tambien” twosome of Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal), Berkeley, California-bred writer-director Fukunaga has made an impossibly slick, extremely well-acted combination of indie subject matter and mainstream style that involves us with strong characterization, fine acting from a cast of unknowns, and visual brilliance. Even if “Sin Nombre” ultimately doesn’t quite justify the heartrending journey the film takes us on, it’s a mightily impressive debut that will inspire young filmmakers and seriously anger Lou Dobbs — two highly praiseworthy achievements.
I have absolutely no clue about fashion. The day after Hollywood awards ceremonies, “Extra,” “Access Hollywood,” and countless entertainment websites are always abuzz with who looked sexy, who looked trashy, who had the most expensive dress, etc. More often than not, I just stare and listen with a blank expression as the lipstick, eye liner, cleavage, flashy dresses, and impossible hairdos meld into a single sexy lady. The brands, designers, and stylists never register with my feeble male brain — it’s just too much to take in. Last night, however, one woman clearly stood out at the 2009 Emmys and grabbed my complete attention.
January Jones is familiar to a large part of the American public as Betty Draper from “Mad Men.” As a constant stream of bedazzled beauty flowed down the red carpet, this slim blonde with the presence of a classic Hollywood starlet caught my eye. Now this is a babe, I thought. I’m sure she was dressed in something revolutionary, but my natural male instincts could only produce this simple thought. Nevertheless, because a few of you may be interested, Jones apparently wore an Atelier Versace gown and accessorized with Neil Lane jewelry and Jimmy Choo “Keenan” sandals. Yep.
As for “Mad Men,” the series performed well again at this year’s Emmys. Despite stiff competition, the show earned statues for Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Though Ms. Jones didn’t receive a nomination for her popular role, she looked better than anyone inside the Nokia Theatre, which should be worthy consolation. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself.
One thing I’ve always loved and admired about “House” is its ability to reinvent itself season after season, tweaking the formula just enough to keep things interesting. With the premiere of Season 6, however, what we’re given is a two-hour episode that throws away the format, offers only the briefest appearance by any other cast member, and is not only strong enough to warrant giving Hugh Laurie an Emmy nomination no matter what else he may do on the show during the course of the season’s subsequent episodes, but, indeed, could’ve been released as a theatrical film during the summer, a la “The X-Files: Fight the Future” from back in the day.
Seriously, it’s that good.
Season 6 of “House” kicks off where Season 5 of “House” left off: with its title character, Dr. Gregory House, within the walls of the Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital. The decision to enter Mayfield came via House himself, however, so as anyone who’s watched their fair share of medical dramas knows, that allows him the option to check himself out at any time…which, following an appropriately harsh opening sequence (set to Radiohead’s “No Surprises”) that details what he’s suffered through duriing his cleansing process, is exactly what he attempts to do.
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