James Franco ♥ Brad Renfro

Whose name would you carve into your arm?

I ask because James Franco carved Brad Renfro's into his... at least photographically. (Is it real? You tell us the next time you see James Franco naked.) This carving was part of the latest issue of The Thing, a mysterious quarterly periodical that comes in the shape of a "useful" object.

I'm not sure how useful a small mirror with "Brad Forever" scrawled in lipstick by Franco's own hand is, but it was fun to open and who am I to judge obsessive actorly devotions?  I have yet to carve an actresses name onto my body but never say never...

<--- I'm pretending that this photo to your left is the exact moment when Franco actually wrote on my copy.

This is only the freshest example that Franco is basically the Lady Gaga of movies: always throwing his eccentric persona at you in ways you're not expecting, even though you're expecting personal eccentricities.

Between this and that very public My Own Private Idaho obsession, we're realizing that James Franco is not an actressexual at all (our kind of people) but the other kind: an actor who obsesses over other male actors.

Or maybe he just really loves The Client (1994) and we just don't know about his Susan Sarandon fetish yet?

What do you suppose his favorite Brad Renfro movie is: Bully? The Client? Apt Pupil?

What's yours?

Mix Tape: "California Dreamin'" in Chungking Express & Fish Tank

Andreas from Pussy Goes Grrr here, with a special Mix Tape double feature.

Although released over a decade apart, Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank (one of last year's best films) have a shared emblem for their characters' longings and frustrations: The Mamas and the Papas' song "California Dreamin'," a staple of classic rock stations that has taken on a cultural life of its own.

In Chungking Express, it's the anthem for lonely waitress Faye (Faye Wong) as she fixates on an equally lonely policeman. In Fish Tank, the impoverished Mia (Katie Jarvis) wants to use Bobby Womack's cover version for her ill-fated dance audition. These women come from radically different places -- Hong Kong and eastern England, respectively -- but they still each dream of a "California."

After the jump, one song seen from two very different perspectives...

Click to read more ...

The Hills Are Alive With Her Music.

Jose here.

I couldn't let Nathaniel's week of Moulin Rouge! end without paying tribute to one iconic creature from the film: the Green Fairy. More specifically, to the actress who plays her, the one and only Kylie Minogue.

Kylie might not be too popular in our continent and some might not even know who the hell she is when she pops out in the absinthe induced fantasy sequence...

Click to read more ...

Links: Dracula, Werewolf, Alien, Bridesmaid

My New Plaid Pants Oooooh Asia Argento and Thomas Kretschmann to star in Dario Argento's Dracula 3D.
Blastr the creator of MTV's new series Teen Wolf claims it's inspired by Spider-Man and Buffy. Ugh. I hate that "it's just like everything else" pitch approach to advertising but in this case it worked on me as Spidey and Buffy are two of my very favorite things. Damn you, man.
Ultra Culture "a review of Bridesmaids that's mostly just a rant about marketing."
Deviant Art Princess Leia drawn in  Alphonse Mucha style. Love it.

Last Exit to Nowhere look at this amazing fan photo to your right, in homage to Aliens.

Off Cinema
Socialite Life Glee's Naya Rivera got a record deal.
Boy Culture Do you remember these 70s and 80s tv shows? I had totally forgotten about most of these. A few I do remember vividly (It's a Living, Square Pegs)
La Daily Musto The Normal Heart stars get age-shaving portraits at Sardis. Ellen Barkin thinks she looks like ScarJo
After Elton chooses the 39 Hottest Guys in New York Theater. Thankfully there's something for everyone.
Hark a Vagrant "Brown Recluse Spider-Man" I lol'ed and lol'ed at this webcomic. Please to enjoy.

Sing Out Jodi! "Part of Your World"

She wants to be part of your woooooooooooorrrld. 

The original Ariel, Jodi Benson, sings her signature tune at the opening of the The Little Mermaid ride which I think just opened in California ("Adventure Park")  but I can't keep track of their parks. It's coming to Florida's Magic Kingdom too.

How many times do you think people have asked her to sing that song for them since 1989: 1,989? 14,000? 890,000? Infinity?

I'm not sure when I came to be so obsessed with The Little Mermaid but sometime about 4 years ago I realized that though I always claim Sleeping Beauty and Beauty & The Beast as my favorite Disney movies (and Jungle Book as my childhood favorite), I mention Little Mermaid, like, a thousand times more often than any of those. What's wrong with me?

Obsessed.

The ride apparently has a surprise ending and Movie|Line made nine cheeky guesses (though #7, "flounder sandwiches", wouldn't surprise me at all, since Disney is totally cannibalistic with their 'children) but they forgot one.

I'll help them by providing it...

#10 the fattest white-haired passenger is impaled and electrocuted.