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Empire Nicole Kidman to play Grace Kelly... circa 1961, in the Monaco years
Stranger Than Most enjoys an unbeatable double feature
Cineuropa remember that Danish film A Royal Affair that made a stir at Berlinale? It's now one of the biggest selling Danish films ever. It's already sold to 76 markets. Can't wait to see it.
Cele|Bitchy Charlize Theron goes Vogue

Awards Daily mesmerizing Rear Window timelapse video 
La Daily Musto on Jeremy Renner's response to the gay rumors. (The end is priceless)
IndieWire box office winners and losers of the first quarter in the specialty market. Go A Separation! 
MNPP balloon men on Michael Bay sets
The Wrap Lindsay Lohan's transformation in 60 seconds 
Movie|Line 9 unbearable theme songs to movies in honor of Titanic's "My Heart Will Go On" 
Eric Orchard Veruca the Werewolf from Buffy hardly gets any attention.

And finally... I don't know how I missed this but this actressexual imitates all 75 supporting actress winners in 6 minutes.

April Showers: "Silent Movie"

waterworks each weeknight at ten

When The Artist won Best Picture at the 85th Oscars in February it marked the first time a silent film had reigned since the very first Oscar ceremony. Some articles on this unexpected throwback and French import mentioned modern filmmakers like Guy Maddin who've experimented with the silent form but strangely Mel Brooks' Silent Movie (1976) was rarely discussed. That's a shame since it might be the closest precedent to The Artist. It was also a widely released comedy about Hollywood and it's also very funny... at least in that shameless Mel brooks kind of way. There's another odd coincidence. Like The Artist it's sole line of dialogue comes from a famous Frenchmen.

The plot of Silent Movie is a simple laundry line on which to hang comic setpieces. Mel Brooks (as "Mel Funn") wants to make a silent movie and the powers that be in Hollywood won't let him unless he convinces the biggest film stars to participate. Since this is the 1970s that means Paul Newman, Liza Minnelli, Anne Bancroft (Mrs Mel Brooks but playing herself), Bernadette Peters and the like.

At one point, Mel Brooks and frequent comic foils Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise pile into a tiny car and look for Burt Reynolds house. 'Are you sure Burt Reynolds lives on this street?' Brooks asks with frustration before the camera cuts to a huge mansion with Burt's face on it. Haha ...oh, the vanity of world famous sex symbols.  After a few failed attempts to enter his house and access his celebrity will the filmmakers give up?

The camera finally finds the actual mustachioed 70s superstar enjoying a steamy shower.

Burt, a good sport to joke about his own vanity like this, is making 'how you doin'?' faces and blowing kisses into the shower mirror. Burt works up quite a lather after the jump...

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Open Easter Thread

For this bunny, it will not end well
Happy holidays.

Any Easter movie plans? Will you go down with the Leo/Kate ship again (in three dimensions)? Will you seek out a limited release gem? Will you stay in and program your own mini-festival while dying easter eggs?

Please to share in the comments. My plans are still in flux but no one will see Titanic with me*. Boo. Why must my friends be haters? Titanic is great.

Pssst. Next week we'll celebrate the Titanic centennial somehow. This weekend we'll try and complete the new Oscar predictions. Stay tuned.

April Showers: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

In the years doing the April Showers series it's become clear that there are basically four types of shower scenes in movies: sex scenes, sight gags, horror moments when characters are at their most vulnerable and emotional cleansing moments (that the body also gets scrubbed is just a bonus). Dragon Tattoo's shower sequence is clearly the latter type, after Lisbeth's brutal rape. David Fincher famously quipped pre-release that his movie had too much anal rape for Oscar. Oscar didn't mind so much nominating it for several Oscars.

Fincher's discussion of the sequence [after the jump. NSFW] on the commentary track is interesting. 

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Like Someone in Love

Amir here. The semi-official trailer for Abbas Kiarostami’s new film, Like Someone in Love, was released last week. The internet mostly ignored it, except for a few mentions here and there. Kiarostami might be a world class auteur and Certified Copy may have become an arthouse sensation but it seems like without a recognizable star like Juliette Binoche, enthusiasm for a new film by the Iranian director will just not be as high. With a May premiere on the croisette very likely to be announced in the next few days – with one exception, Kiarostami’s last five films have all opened in Cannes – the film is bound to find more attention coming its way.  If it is indeed included in the festival line-up with a jury presided over by Kiarostami’s friend and past collaborator Nani Moretti, expect plenty of chatter about the film’s chances of netting the director his second Palme d’Or.

That’s all speculation, of course. For now, let’s apply our usual Yes, No, Maybe So to the trailer.

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