From the Wilds of Woody-land

JA from MNPP here. I was looking up pictures of Peter Sarsgaard on Tumblr - don't tell me you haven't yet seen that shot of him jogging in shorts shorts making the rounds - when I stumbled upon some pics from the set of Woody Allen's new movie currently filming in San Francisco that seemd worth sharing.

What continues being delightful even when Woody's movies don't - yes I'm looking at you To Rome With Love - is seeing him mix up all the famous actors he gets to play with in surprising ways - why sure, I'd love to see Judy Davis play Allison Pill's mother! How astute of you, good sir. (TRWL needed more cast interaction - imagine if Greta Gerwig and Penny Cruz had fallen under Roberto Benigni's haphazard charms while managing their own plots!)

Seeing Sally Hawkins and Bobby Cannavale and Cate Blanchett and Louis CK all standing around gives me hope this next one will toss some of Woody's specific sort of thespian frission our way. Woody gets whoever the heck he wants in his movies - make use! (And hire Diane Keaton next time, dammit!)

It's Monday!

And this is your life. Sweet! So today, tell me:

What movie title best sums up where you are in life right now? What’s going on with you, who’s around you, what’s coming up just around the river bend...

Mine?

Cosmopolis, or: The Absence of Feeling

Hello Readers!

Beau here, detailing my experiences with David Cronenberg's polarizing new feature, Cosmopolis. 

Let's jump right in.

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Sally Bowles' Father.

Inspired by his experiences as a young man in 1930s Germany, author Christopher Isherwood (who was born on a day like today in 1904) created Sally Bowles as a symbol of the joyful decadence of the era. Sally first appeared in a novella carrying her name and then appeared once more in Goodbye Berlin, Isherwood's most famous work. Although Isherwood created many other memorable characters, (he wrote A Single Man) Sally remains the most iconic of his creations, having won awards and accolades for actresses who played her like Julie Harris (who won her first Tony playing her) and most famously Liza Minnelli who brought her to life in the musical Cabaret.

Why not celebrate Isherwood by rewatching Bob Fosse's masterpiece? Who are your favorite Isherwood characters? Which of his stories would you like to see as a movie?

Behind the Scene with Lizzy & Adam in "Bachelorette"...

...Or, 'How Public Transportation, Running Out of Time and "Party Down" Created Two Perfect Movie Minutes'

-by Leslye Headland

If there’s one thing I learned making a movie, it’s that every frame has a pretty epic story behind it. Here’s one about the scene with Lizzy and Adam on the bed in Bachelorette.

In 2007, during a bus ride from Beverly Hills back to Hollywood (I didn’t have a car for two years), The Proclaimers “500 Miles” came on my iPod shuffle. It was a song that meant so much to me when I was little (Benny & Joon!) but I hadn't heard it in forever. I decided to put it in the scene where my pokerfaced ex-lovers, Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Clyde (Adam Scott), reconnect. There’s nothing like nostalgia to melt a cynical heart.

Fast forward to 2011. I’m in my first week of shooting. I’m on set with Lizzy and Adam. [Click for More]

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