Octolinky
Friday, November 16, 2012 at 9:30PM Slant Kurt interviews the "singular, essential" Parker Posey who is currently starring in Price Check
IndieWire Jared Leto in drag on the set of Dallas Buyer's Club
Vulture ranks all of Steven Spielberg's movies. Huh. We have the same #1!
Bella Calledonia has a different perspective on Ben Affleck's Argo and Iranian representation in film than most
Broadway vote on the sexiest man alive (on Broadway). I voted for Cheyenne Jackson. Duh!
Awards Daily Alexandre Desplat's Argo score. I wish I could get into scores more but I remain an accidental Philistine of this category.
In Contention thinks Cloud Atlas and The Hobbit will lead the makeup & hairstyling race. I'm less sure. That could be an easy get for Lincoln, couldn't it, if they need a place to reward the film?
Unreality "the many faces of Johnny Depp"
Today's Must Watch
Here's a clever new way to promote your upcoming movie -- get your unknown star to do impersonations of very famous stars as the character he'll be playing. So Meta. So Mimiccky Good.
The actor's name is Ross Marquand and if he ever becomes famous he'll obviously win an Oscar since this is AMPAS's favorite party trick. The real test of this trick, if you ask me, is being able to "do" famous people that you wouldn't immediately think for impersonations. Vocal impersonations of Brando, Pacino, Walken, Cher, etcetera are common. But I personally never imagined I'd see/hear Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt mimicry this good.
Reader Comments (16)
I totally agree with the sentiment expressed in that Vulture list that Close Encounters has aged better than Star Wars, and it's refreshing to see other people acknowledge that. I went through a Star Wars phase when I was a kid as most other children of my generation did, but having rewatched the original trilogy recently, I was saddened to come to the realization that most of my best memories of the Star Wars phenomenon are related to playing with the action figures more than watching the movies. On the other hand, I like Close Encounters more now than I did when I first saw it as a kid. It's definitely the better movie of the two big '77 sci-fi releases, in my opinion, and I'd rank it even higher than this list did.
However, War of the Worlds at #6? I appreciate a contrarian take on it, but I still maintain that it might be the WORST movie Spielberg has made, possibly even worse than Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
War of the Worlds is NOT better than The Color Purple and Jurassic Park.
The Color Purple is ranked too low on that list anyways.
With the video, i love his Spacey impression too. The Ford really stands out though. Made me chuckle.
Okay, maybe I'm not getting it, but that Bella Calledonia article doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The writer was in Iran in the fall of 2001 and had a pleasant trip. Great, I'm glad to hear that. But he watched Argo, which takes place in 1979, and objects on the grounds that it doesn't at all resemble the Iran he visited. Uh, duh? It was twenty-two years later when he was there, and he wasn't there during a highly contentious political episode. (He says that he was there several days after 9/11, but the two incidents are not at all comparable. One was local, one was not.)
I'd love to read an article by a Westerner who was there during the hostage crisis. Their perspective would be fascinating and would serve as an interesting contrast to the movie's portrayal of Iran. But this article seems roughly akin to someone saying, "I don't know why so many Germans are portrayed as psychopaths in Schindler's List. I was in Germany last week, and everyone there was very nice!"
I actually really like War of the Worlds (but yes, the last five minutes are dumb). But having it at number 6 and Jurassic Park at number 12 is absolute crazy talk.
(Last comment, I promise . . .)
I love how many people in the comments section of the Vulture article are freaking out about "Hook" being too low and it's a beautiful movie and blah blah, but a few of them subtly mention that they haven't seen the movie since they were in middle school.
I also loved "Hook" as a kid, but I rewatched it for probably the first time in a decade not too long ago, and wow, what a giant piece of junk. I'm embarrassed on behalf of eight-year-old me. What was I thinking?
I cannot wait for the dallas buyers club. I have waited six years. What do you think of Leto as an actor?
The Color Purple received 11 Academy Award nominations—won none and yet it continues to be dismissed by white people as lesser Spielberg. I won't say anymore—I'm much more rational and articulate when the target is Beryl Cheap or Nathan the non-masturbator (get it, refusing to see The Master). It's late and I'm feeling bitchy.
I'm 27 and watched "Hook" 2 nights ago (for the first time) and loved it.
Personally, when I watch films I try more and more to strip myself of pre-conceptions.
Liz -- Hook is not only my least favorite Spielberg but maybe in my ten least favorite movies of all time. LOATHE IT. But I'm protective of Peter Pan . I still think of it as not just a bad movie but a blasphemous proposition ;)
3rtful -- re: The Color Purple. That's like implying any movie about black people should be free of criticism from white critics. Uhhhhhh, no. A critic is a critic is a critic and a movie is a movie.
Jared Leto in drag = Amanda Peet doppelgänger?
I think War of the Worlds is a terrific movie IF you stop watching before Tim Robbibs shows up. A short movie with an ambiguous ending, but a terrific flick. If you watch till the end, though, it becomes BAD Spielberg, one of his very worst.
ToD over Last Crusade? Surely you jest, sir.
OK that impersonation video is AMAZING. His Brad Pitt is so spot on, but the one that really got me going was McConaughey. Perfect.
And I thought voting for Cheyenne Jackson in that Broadway poll was going to be easy, but then the poll reminded me that Dan Stevens in on Broadway (HELLO, British accent!) and then way down on the bottom was Steve Kazee from Once, and if you've seen it, you know exactly why I ended up voting for him. He can serenade me with that guitar and soulful eyes of his ANY TIME.
Cheyenne Jackson?!? But Aaron Lazar. Bobby Cannavale, and Steve Kazee are also in the running! This is like Sophie's Choice.
Also, Nathaniel, the Neil Patrick Harris version of Company came out on Blu Ray this week. It's scrumptious.
They really overrated "War of the Worlds," which I agree is underrated. No way is it better than "AI," "Jurassic Park," "The Color Purple" and a couple of other Spielberg films. I'll need to put my list together, but I would probably put "ET" on top.
I still think Empire of the Sun is one of Spielberg's best. Granted I haven't seen it in a while, so it may not have aged well . . . but it didn't sour my stomach with earnestness the way The Color Purple and Schindler's List did.
And as far as sexiest man on Broadway . . . Steve Kazee hands down . . . but Cheyenne Jackson is a close second. Both have killer gams!