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Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 9:41AM 
Old Hollywood loves Federico Fellini. Isn't that an amazing sketch (left)? It's Fellini's first rendering of Gelsomina from La Strada.
The Sheila Variations a beautiful birthday piece about crushing on Ralph Macchio before The Karate Kid (!) and the transformational power of getting hooked on the storytelling arts and the actors who make us dream.
Thelma Adams corrals some friends to discuss the annual topic: does nudity equal bravery for actresses?
Your Movie Buddy (and ours) interviews Kirsten Dunst on Melancholia.
ioncinema Fox Searchlight signs the Borderline Film trio (Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, and Josh Mond) to a first look deal. That filmmaking collective operates in such a cool way, alternating in the director's chair but sticking together and supporting each other. Their latest venture being the fab Martha Marcy May Marlene (my review if you missed it).
Little White Lies interviews our current favorite Norwegian director Joachim Trier on his new film Olso, August 31st
Coming Soon Gallery of on set images from Terrence Malick's Lawless starring The Driver and That Girl With the Tattoo. Now that Malick is making movies as fast as say, Martin Scorsese (Allen & Eastwood's clip will thankfully remain out of reach... that speed doesn't do many people favors), that 20 year gap between Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line is looking ever more perplexing.
Tom Shone thoughts on Leonardo DiCaprio and a top ten. It's odd that I disagreed so much with the content of the article but apart from the weird preferencing of Blood Diamond, I totally get the top ten choices.
MNPP Jake Gyllenhaal on the subway. Stars... they're just like us!
Flickr awesome gallery of "the end" onscreen
In Contention will be there for a Vanessa Redgrave AMPAS tribute in London next week
Oh No They Didn't 13 Movie Poster trends from the legs spread stance, to floating heads in clouds threw sexy backs holding weaponry.
Finally...
That's the Hunger Games cast doing one of those Vanity Fair shoots that make everyone look All American Rising Star Sun Dappled Models in the Great Outdoors. Doesn't it bother anyone that the movie is all about these people killing each other and yet it's like "yay, the cool kids. you could be their friend, too!"
Reader Comments (9)
What a schmuck that guy was, a real movie lover would have sensed the Gyllenhaal's presence and awoken >:D.
The US attitude about human sexuality and the nude form is why the question is continued being asked to begin with. I don't mind that there are actresses who refuse to take their clothes off. Many won't feel comfortable doing it on set. When all is said and done their work on screen is always second to the flesh they displayed.
I agree that the choice of Blood Diamond at #1 for Leo is bizarre, because I honestly didn't even think he was that good in the movie. I thought he was fantastic in The Departed from that same year, though.
3 Notes:
1. That Photo of Gelsomina looks like Calvin.
2. I think Malick was nervous that the project he had lined up after Days of Heaven was really artistically redundant. He had a strong reputation to defend.
3. Yeah, that photo for The Hunger Games is bizarre. Grey colours, dirt smeared faces and a little bit of wound makeup. Really use this photo to honestly sell the movie.
Is anyone else afraid that Terrence Malick's newfound work ethic is the result of a doctor telling him he has six months to live?
SVG: Second that! Or he is making something big like every movie is kind of a segment within a Deckalog kind of artistic thing
BUT Bale, Gosling and Blanchett directed by Malick is just heaven
I love 13 movie trends reverence fort Swinton... Truly deserved.
I'm glad to see all the love for Vanessa. Whether or not you agree with her politically there is no question she is one of the greatest actresses living and after some really rough years personally it's wonderful to see her in strong discussion for an Oscar. She should have multple ones by now anyway but as is often the case with the most talented, i.e. Ida Lupino, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Plowright etc. she has been woefully neglected. At least she has one and hopefully soon two.
I thought it interesting that the critics at the round table disparaged to some degree Elizabeth Olsen in MMMM and Carey Mulligan in Shame; more than once someone said in both instances that half the reason they were in the conversation was because of nude scenes (certainly not the impression I get from reading your reviews Nat - or any other reviews I've come across so far.)
And frankly isn't that a little - sexist? Disparaging the choice of nudity is not the opposite of overpraising it ("so brave!"), it's the same mindset, the same thing in a different frock (pun intended.)