you wouldn't be able to do these awful things to me if i weren't still in this Blog | But cha'aar, Link, ya'aar!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 11:49AM Boy Culture counts down 100 best Golden Girls guest spots - movie stars of yore!
The Daily Beast has an excellent piece on Tammy and Melissa McCarthy's career and body (also body of work) by Teo Bugbee
New Yorker thorough piece on the arguments for and against VOD for indies and the question of "cultural endurance" (I'm against VOD in general but I recognize that's probably because I live in NYC where I can actually see the movies and I think moviegoing is so much more immersive than watching things at home)
Me Says considers Notes on a Scandal (2006) the Whatever Happened to Baby Jane of our time
Bad-Ass Digest on Exodus: Gods and Kings' 'white men with bronzer' cast. Will it finally crystallize the white-wash problem for people who still don't get it?
Nathaniel R and have you seen that tacky black&white-in-color poster?
EW Dick Jones the voice of Pinocchio dies at 87
Radar apparently Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are 7 months pregnant... I thought they broke up? I can't keep up with celebrity lovelives
Cosmopolitan has a cool piece on top stuntwomen... stunts are on my mind alot given that it's blockbuster season and this piece a month back...
TFE an interview with Hollywood's top stuntman Bobby Holland Hanton
Movie Dearest interviews the screenwriter of the 80s shocker Crimes of Passion starring Kathleen Turner
Finally, what do you make of this plea for a collaborative performance Oscar?
Outstanding Collaborative Performance: Andy Serkis and company from Press Play Video Blog on Vimeo.
On the one hand I absolutely agree that Andy Serkis needs an Oscar and I've been saying so since 2002. But, like Mark Harris, I don't think it needs to be a competitive one. Creating Oscar categories or changing Oscar rules due to one or two special things (like say a Batman movie directed by Chris Nolan or a really great year for animation) usually results in far more problems and undeserving honors than it's worth. I say bring back the special Oscar for cinematic achievements that don't have competitive categories. When I was a kid that was a semi-regular event and it was nearly always cool.
Reader Comments (21)
We are in a fractured culture. In every conceivable way. Video on demand allows for the democratization of niche movie titles. That were once exclusive to the art house or film festivals. But now everyone has a right to enjoy them in the immediacy that video on demand allows. The theatrical experience will never be replaced. But that does not mean we all have to suffer the unpleasant stuff of rude people. Poor quality presentation. And high prices for tickets and everything else one might need to enjoy themselves at the movie house.
Sadly, I don't remember John Laughlin doing a full-frontal in Crimes of Passion. Love Kathleen's opening monologue with her legs spread wide open. Who else did that in the 80s?
peggy sue -- Kathleen Turner was basically *everything* in the 80s. She gets too little respect now.
I live in Atlanta. By no means a small town, but definitely not on the radar when with it comes to lower profile/niche films. We have two arthouse theaters where you'll be able to catch a Belle or Begin Again, but the only way I was able to see something even like Weekend a few years back was on demand. I completely agree that nothing beats the experience of seeing a film in the theaters, but I can see how that experience is becoming an expensively diminished for so many, unless its a full on spectacle. Not rehash the Oscars again, but people will continue to see Gravity on the big screen, but many would be just fine with catching 12 Years a Slave or any of other the BP nominees at home.
I always wish Quentin Tarantino would cast Kathleen Turner in a killer lead role a la Pam Grier in Jackie Brown....
Sigh, a boy can dream!
I see your point Nat, and there's really no beating seeing a film on a big screen, even something that doesn't seem like it needs it like Philomena (I miss the Philomena callouts in the podcast). However, as someone who, like Val, lives in a pretty large metropolitan area (Minneapolis/St. Paul), we only have three theaters that would play an independent film, and something like Weekend never got here. I like to see films during the year not only for my own personal awards, but also because I want to be part of the conversation online when the film is relevant. That's not possible unless theater owners get more differentiation or we have options like VOD.
@David
The old Tarantino would have been very interested in Kathleen Turner. The new Tarantino has expressed interest in casting Meryl Streep.
@ Val...I live in Atlanta as well and trust me, I almost took a train to D.C. a couple of years back to see DOGTOOTH on the big screen, as it never played here. However, you must've missed WEEKEND while it was here @ MidtownArt (probably just for one week). You might check out The Plaza, as they are now showing first run indies such as TEST, BLUE RUIN and more.
@Tab - I always forget about The Plaza. It only pops into my head when I think about going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show on a Friday night.
Nathan, you really outdid yourself on the title of this one! LOL
Co-sign what you said about Ms. Turner--we all bow before her.
brookesboy -- thanks for noticing. i was proud of it.
I agree that poster is terrible- I miss the old style posters with glorious art work which made the movie seem better than it was but hey it made me want to buy a ticket.
Jaragon: Yeah, the "I know, we'll put this through the Sin City filter. That'll look great" Exodus poster is pretty freaking bad, especially since, if you tie it in to Sin City's use of colour symbolism, it kind of implies that BOTH THESE GUYS ARE EVIL. Even though one of them is supposed to be Moses. If that IS what the movie is going for? Whoops, major spoiler. If that's NOT what the movie is going for? Whoops, you didn't research the connotations of yellow/gold highlighting in the style you're ripping off.
Just a little nitpick: the interview is with the screenwriter of "Crimes of Passion" not the director since Ken Russell sadly passed away a few years ago..
Great movie though and I echo all the love for Kathleen Turner! She was so amazing in the 80s. I wish she would get another great screen role some time in the future...
Whenever i watch Linda Fiorentino in the Last Seduction i think that is the kinda part Kathleen Turner could have killed:)
Janis -- thanks for the correction. dumb mistake. i fixed it.
Kathleen Turner is really something. I love her so much in Peggy Sue Got Married. It's so sad to see her in Marley and Me in tidbit part; she deserves so much better.
Anybody knows why in the 90s, her movie choices are so bizzare? Baby Geniuses, undercover Blues...?? I know she became sick later on but in early 90s , she was still healthy but the drop of quality in her projects are very strange.
I would love to see an expanded article where you talk more in depth about your views on VOD, Nat!
Did a little happy dance when I saw that you linked my piece on Melissa McCarthy. Glad you liked it!
Drew -- she had a lot of personal life problems, from sickness to marital issues to alcohol and she also gained weight pretty early in her career -- remember it was a big deal when she slimmed back down again (briefly) for Undercover Blues. Also it's worth noting that she got started late. She was 30 by the time she turned superstar (Romancing the Stone) so she was a late arrival (like Meryl... as actresses go... men of course don't really start peaking onscreen until mid to late 30s
as to the film choices. i have no idea why they got so bad after so many good films but that started pretty early too. I still have no idea why someone at the heighth of their career would take Switching Channels with the then has-been Burt Reynolds. and i guess i can see VI WARSHAWKSI on paper (franchise dreams) but even then it felt B grade.
Re Kathleen Turner--I think I read somewhere back in the late '80s that she was a bit of a diva, and very difficult to work with. But, of course, that doesn't stop Hollywood most of the time. She's a great actress and I'm glad she's finding good roles on the stage, including Mother Courage in DC.
I know Nathaniel doesn't like us to say this, but she would be great on TV in a meaty role like the one Glenn Close had on Damages.