Monday, November 14, 2016 at 12:30PM Chris here with something you may not be noticing at the movies lately. Whether they freak you out or make you giggle (or even a little of both), tentacles are so in right now. With the growing presence of squirmy appendages in world cinema and blockbusters, you'd think we'd get a Cthulhu franchise by now. Let's take a look at some of the examples:
Monday, November 14, 2016 at 10:50AM "The Furniture" our weekly series on Production Design. Here's Daniel Walber
This week marks 50 years since the release of Is Paris Burning? (not to be confused with documentary classic Paris is Burning) an epic that hasn’t quite stood the test of time. In the tradition of The Longest Day, it harnesses a cast of thousands to tell the story of a single, crucial moment of World War Two: The liberation of Paris. French stars like Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon take roles in the Resistance, while the likes of Kirk Douglas and Glenn Ford play American generals. There are cameos from Simone Signoret, George Chakiris and Anthony Perkins, to name only a few.
Directed by René Clément with a script by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola, you’d think it would be more popular. Still, it’s worth revisiting, and not only for its two Oscar nominations (art direction and cinematography).The film’s visual ambition is often astonishing. Its commitment to accuracy caused at least one unlucky Parisian passerby that the Wehrmacht had actually returned. Everything is bold, nothing subtle.
Production designer Willy Holt, an American who mostly worked in France, later worked on Julia and Au revoir les enfants. Art director Marc Frederix designed for films as disparate as Moonraker and Love and Death, while his colleague Pierre Gufroy won an Oscar for Roman Polanski’s Tess. Clearly, the talented group was more than up to the task of winding back the clock 20 years on one of the world’s most recognizable cities.
Monday, November 14, 2016 at 9:00AM On this day in showbiz history...
1719 Leopold Mozart, Amadeus's father is born in Augsburg Germany. In the 1984 movie phenomenon, one of the biggest hits of its year and the winner of 8 Oscars, he's played by Roy Dotrice and factors in heavily to the film's haunting imagery (and poster). Or to quote Salieri as played by F Murray Abraham:
So rose the dreadful ghost from his next and blackest opera. There, on the stage, stood the figure of a dead commander. And I knew, only I understood that the horrifying aparition was Leopold, raised from the dead! Wolfgang had actually summoned up his own father to accuse his son before all the world! It was terrifying and wonderful to watch. And now the madness began in me. The madness of the man splitting in half. Through my influence, I saw to it Don Giovanni was played only five times in Vienna. But in secret, I went to every one of those five, worshipping sounds I alone seem to hear. And hour after hour, as I stood there, understanding how that bitter old man was still possessing his poor son even from beyond the grave. I began to see a way, a terrible way, I could finally triumph over God.
Uff such a great movie.
Classic screen beauties, unforgettable musical moments and other Best Picture nominees after the jump...
Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 3:00PM On this day in 1993 the iconic Michelle Pfeiffer, then at the peak of her career, wed her very new boyfriend, TV powerhouse David E Kelley (who had three series on air at the that time - LA Law, Doogie Howser MD, and Picket Fences). Fun trivia notes and a few clips after the jump...
Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 12:38PM 
We're back to weekly podcasts! This week Nick, Joe, and Nathaniel discuss two new Best Picture hopefuls and one bold remake
Index (43 minutes)
00:01 Arrival - thinky empathetic sci-fi just when we're starved for understanding in the real world + Amy Adams!
19:35 Slight spoilery territory on Arrival and comparing it to other movies
27:05 Cape Fear's 25th anniversary. One of our favorite Scorsese's.
33:30 Loving a quiet civil rights drama
41:11 Almost Christmas and goodbyes
You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversations in the comments, won't you?
