Miscellinkia: Beatty-ful Summer, Vampiric Tilda, Gamey Thrones,

Links
Ultra Culture Cannes Abuse Checklist. An invaluable chart!
Boy Culture scores the first Val Lauren interview post Sal Mineo / James Franco casting.
Scanners Opening Shots: Woody Allen's Another Woman
IndieWire wonders if winning the Palme D'Or equals box office revenue. Well... it might if any Palme D'Or were released immediately after their win. But by the time they're released summer prestige glory is usually a footnote. Take Uncle Boonmee. No, it was never going to be a "hit" but wouldn't it have played better if it had a normal curve of buzz, release, discussion? Instead of opening 10 months later?

Tilda, Ezra and Lynne Ramsay at the WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN premiere

Movie|Line wonders if a slow burn favorite might win the Palme D'Or instead of The Tree of Life. Cannes Jury predictions crack me up each year because everyone assumes its done deals (just like the Oscars)... but it's often far from predictable.
Towleroad GLAAD Awards. Kim Cattrall's acceptance speech is quite funny. 'I played a gay man on a popular tv show'
Slash Film Tilda Swinton and Michael Fassbender for a Jim Jarmusch vampire flick? Curious and possibly awesome. I guess this means that Countess movie with Tilda isn't happening though. I can't see her doing two vampire films in a row.
Film Doctor steals notes froms the Mrs for Bridesmaids

Gagging on Game of Thrones
I know that my initial impression of HBO's Game of Thrones was far less favorable than most critics and fantasy fans, but can I at least get an amen that the casting of both "fourth in line" Renly Barantheon and his lover The Knight of Flowers, who are often described in the book as intensely charismatic, is terribly off. The casting does not reflect either The Knight of Flowers legendary beauty or Renly's reputation as the most charming fellow in the Seven Kingdoms. They both come across as whiny slightly-bitchy wimps which is about a 180 from the books wherein The Knight is someone you'd NEVER want to meet on a battlefield he's so deadly physically and Renly is someone everyone wishes were king. I really am not pleased with this. And I did not to hear those campy sound effects for well, MOVING ON... But I'll admit that for all my reservations, the series is hooking me just like the first novel did. That first novel was so brilliantly plotted but I really must stop watching this before it goes off the plot horse never to remount in any subsequent books or, uh, seasons as the new case may be.

A Beatty-ful Summer
Tonight in New York City at 92 Street Y, elusive actress/writer/director Elaine May will be showing her cut of the infamous 80s flop Ishtar starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. May will discuss the movie afterwards which she rarely does. I'm totally going. Tickets are still available. And then in June, the man himself will be appearing at a Dick Tracy screening in Los Angeles to discuss the movie. Tickets for that are $30 but it's a rare opportunity to hear Beatty talk about his work and see that comic flick on the big screen. If I were in LA, I wouldn't dream of missing it. But then I have an unheathily attachment to Beatty and his Mrs.

Quickie Poll

What? Hollywood always goes so phallic in the summer.

poll by twiigs.com

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Thor, Bridesmaids, Game of Thrones  Kristen Wiig

Curio: Bubblegum Card Oddities

Alexa here. Everyone knows that there is a whole universe devoted to sports trading cards, with stories of someone selling their Mickey Mantle card for thousands.  Of course a similar form of geekdom revolves around sci fi films, with Thor and Star Wars trading cards produced by the truckload.   But occasionally I run across some vintage film trading cards that I find a little unexpected.  Here are some I've enjoyed.

Yes, I bought this complete set of Saturday Night Fever trading cards about 15 years ago.  You'll be happy to know that I didn't spend all that much; apparently a card of Tony Manero in his black briefs isn't worth much in the open market.  The unopened packages still had gum!  My favorite part was being able to assemble the poster image from the back of the set.

Although it makes sense that they produced Alien trading cards in 1979 (in a feeble attempt to ride the Star Wars sci fi wave) I find it hilarious that this means there are trading cards out there of Veronica Cartwright and Harry Dean Stanton!

But wait there's more: Marlon Brando, Mia Farrow and...

Click to read more ...

Cannes Goddesses Pt. 1: A Red Carpet Conversation

Jane Fonda. She Knows She Rules.Last time on red carpet lineup Kurt and Nathaniel chatted about the annual Met Gala. This time out, Jose and Nathaniel are discussing the first few days of Cannes international fashion parade. Find out which actress Nathaniel is starting a religion to worship and which audition tape Jose dreams of seeing.

Nathaniel: Hello Jose. I must know. Before I throw dresses at you if you've been following Cannes 64 at all?

‪Jose: ‬ ‪Hi! Well yes, but mostly for the dresses actually, considering most of us mortals never get to see all those movies they talk about over there.‬

Nathaniel: ‪So though you're a cinephile, for Cannes you're rather like the very casual Oscar watcher then?
It being all about the gowns?

‪Jose: ‬ ‪Sadly, yes. I blame distributors!‬

Nathaniel: The perfect scapegoat.

Jose: ‬ ‪At least they can't take fashion away from us.‬

‪Nathaniel: ‬ ‪True. Or movie stars for that matter.‬ Even when the movies aren't there anymore you're still a legend for the purposes of the red carpet. Like Faye Dunaway...

FAN BINGBING, MAIWENN LE BESCO, FAYE DUNAWAY, SJP, PENELOPE CRUZ

‪Jose: ‬ ‪I love that they're paying tribute to her in Cannes.

Nathaniel: ‬ ‪It does feel like a reevaluation is coming. Or at least a revival. Even Mommie Dearest... you don't hear people dissing that performance anymore so much as voicing the theory that gonzo acting ruined her career.‬

Jose:  Absolutely, but I think she'll do more serious work. She's even quoting Meryl Streep in interviews!

Nathaniel:  I don't know enough about fashion to know what type of dress this is but gossamer modest flowy light things always make me think of ghosts in Victorian mansions... or Stevie Nicks. Who is also back!

Jose:  Faye looks so graceful. Stevie rocks! But I think the new queen of ghost wear is that Florence from the Machine lady.

Nathaniel:  This is the part of most celebrity discussions where I would start singing

the dog days are over
the dog days are done
can you hear the horses
because here they come

and then someone would snark about Sarah Jessica Parker.

BUT we both like SJP. So there.

Jose:  "Like"? I'm obsessed with her! People can say whatever they want about her face and Sex and the City but the woman is a red carpet visionary! This Elie Saab dress is proof of that. I love how she's been trying to bring back the 70s lately (with her in charge of Halston and everything...)

Nathaniel: I will say that this dress looks MUCH better in motion than it does in a still photograph. Because here it look just... too much. Too much fabric for a tiny diva. But she definitely is a risk-taker. And bringing back the 70s is going well for her if red carpet looks from other women are to be believed.

Jose:  Maybe she was paying tribute to Faye. too?

Nathaniel:  I hope everyone is with her face plastered on all the posters. Incidentally she wore this dress to the premiere of Peter Chan's Wu Xia and the only unfortunate thing about inviting international fashion icons to your premiere is that your stars get ignored.

Jose:  Smart move in case everyone hates the movie, no?

Nathaniel:  Well sure but this movie stars Takeshi Kaneshiro, Kara Hui and Tang Wei and I haven't seen one photo of any of them, yet. And they were there as this video proves!!!

Jose:  Maybe they were hiding from the cameras under Sarah's ample dress.

Nathaniel: Heh. One thing that happens with celebrity photo feeds is if someone of SJP's fashion stature shows to any "smaller" event, the event is often completely ignored. Even in the headlines. It's weird.

Jose:  Shh, don't say that, people will hear you and SJP won't be invited to things anymore! I had no idea Tang Wei was in new movies. I had started to assume she'd pulled off a Falconetti on us and retired after Lust, Caution.

Fan Bingbing at the "The Tree of Life" premiereNathaniel: I always include Fan Bingbing in red carpet lineups because she really wears a deep groove in the Cannes carpet each year. I can't imagine the size of her luggage. How do you ship entire closets?

Jose:  I have no idea what this woman does for a living but being beautiful seems to be enough.

Nathaniel:  She's an actress, silly. I ignore the models and celebutantes, even when I like what they're wearing.

Jose: She was featured in every option of a "Best Dressed in Cannes" poll, the other day. Maybe entire fleets carry her dresses?

Nathaniel: She never seems to repeat colors styles fabrics. I think maybe mice and birds sew her into custom-made gowns each evening.

Jose:  Magic!  Must be hard being under so much sartorial pressure. No wonder she rarely smiles...

Nathaniel:  I had to include Mäiwenn Le Besco (Crouching Tigress) in the photo above.

Jose: Crouching Tigress, Obvious Drunkard! Girls seems to be enjoying her champagne. Who does that on a red carpet?

Mäiwenn ... actress, director, Diva PlavalagunaNathaniel: Heh. Maybe she's reminding everyone that she wields cameras these days. I saw her last movie The Actress' Ball and it was extremely self-indulgent but also intermittently hilarious and obsessed with actressing so I respect her. When I was interviewing Ludivine Sagnier last month that movie even came up.

I'm always secretly thrilled when Mäiwenn shows anywhere because I love explaning to people that she's the blue opera diva  from The Fifth Element and shocking them. Bam! Are you freaked?

Jose:  VERY. I always assumed that was a man!

I can't believe you're not letting me talk about Pé yet.

Nathaniel: Your wish is granted.

Jose:  Sigh. Nat, I kid you not. I didn't want her to do Cannes because I was afraid she'd disappoint me. Mrs. Bardem has been doing some weird ass red carpet choices, post baby Leo. But I'm actually in love with this.

  At first I thought she'd gone all out on Cannes (they love nudity there) and actually had had people paste tiny rocks and fabrics to her body.

Nathaniel:  Split opinion here. I think this color is three kinds of wrong on her. I'm not fond of nudity unless it's actually nudity.

Click to read more ...

Box Office Prophecy: Kristen Wiig's Legs

I've been in Boston for my girlfriend's birthday. Yesterday on the last day of the weekend birthday-ing, our group filed into a very crowded house for Bridesmaids. Perfect movie choice for a rainy day after brunch with a group o' friends. Given how consistently the entire theater was LOLing -- including our row -- you'd think the film could've knocked Thor right off the Bifrost.

A Truth: Wiig's Penis Imitation > Thor's Hammer. 

But I guess a great audience response and word of mouth is what second weekends are for. I expect Bridesmaids will have major box office legs and the tiniest of percentage dips next weekend. It's much funnier than The Hangover (2009) to which it's often compared (for plot and especially marketing reasons) and that film, which opened stronger, only dipped 27% and 18% in its 2nd and 3rd weekends going on to a very substantial gross. I'm guessing we see something very similar with Kristen Wiig & Co, at least percentage wise, in the next couple of weekends. I hope The Hangover II doesn't eat into its potential audience in the coming weeks. The wolf pack already had its turn.

The Box Office (Actuals)

01 THOR $34.7 (cumulative $119.4) [review]
02 BRIDESMAIDS new  $26.2
03 FAST FIVE $20.4 (cumulative $169.6)
04 PRIEST new $14.9
05 RIO $8.2 (cumulative $125.2)
06 JUMPING THE BROOM $7.0 (cumulative $25.7)
07 SOMETHING BORROWED $6.8 (cumulative $25.5)
08 WATER FOR ELEPHANTS $4.2 (cumulative $48.5) [review]
09 TYLER PERRY MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY $2.2 (cumulative $50.2)
10 SOUL SURFER $1.8 (cumulative $39.2)

What did you see this weekend? I'll try to write up Bridesmaids soon. I have a few things to say about it but they feel too entirely jumbled and disparate to make sense of this morning.