Curio: American Psycho Squared

Alexa here.  As a follow-up to Nathaniel's Birthday Bale post (and all the American Psycho love shown in the comments) I had to share these wood panels by artist Kelly Puissegur, a.k.a. retrowhale.  I've blogged about Kelly's work before; she has a wonderfully artful take on some famous directors, and she's also made panels illustrating other films (I love her sweet 80s movie set).  You can check them all out at her shop.  As you can see, her detailed style is perfectly suited to Patrick Bateman's world.

January. It's a Wrap

The first month of 2011 has already wrapped... not to mention the first month of this BRAND NEW SITE. Can you believe? The big welcome was only one month ago. Here are ten highlights from the month in case you're just joining us or you happened to miss any of them:

Big Hair. Big Diva. Big Musical.

• Truth in Advertising - rejiggering some FYC ads.
• Overheard and Illustrated -How Black Swan is just like Donnie Darko.
• Red Carpet at the Globes - so much green. so much shoulder pad. so much saloon girl.
• Nathaniel's Top Ten List -from Viking Islands to Harvard Final Clubs to Italian Estates.
• Donna Murphy as Mother Gother in Tangled - a vocal appreciation.
• What If There Were Five? - a comment discussion.
• David O. Russell a few interesting anecdotes from the great director's Museum of the Moving Image interview with Spike Jonze.
• Clint & Beyoncé the weirdest movie new of the month -- maybe even the year within the first month.
• Streisand for Gypsy the second weirdest movie news of the month -- also a musical remake.
• Jacki Weaver Interview Epilogue: Thrilled she was nominated. What a relief.

Coming in February: Pixar retrospective, romantic moments in the movies, interviews with Oscar nominees, BAFTA blogging...  and we'll also finish up the FiLM BiTCH Awards... pinky swear!

True Clinch

Mattie & Rooster ReunitedAwwwww. Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) and Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) didn't wait a quarter century to see each other again. All it took was awards season hustle and bustle.

I'm growing fonder of Jeff Bridge's Rooster weekly and I'm usually the opposite with awards season performances. Every time I see a clip of that courtroom scene I giggle.

Get Back to Work!

Confession: Every time I see a picture of a director Baz Lurhmann or Quentin Tarantino at a party I want to scream "Get back to work, you!" If I were the boss of great directors they'd have terrible vacation time eligibility benefits. I'd maybe give them two weeks off a year. Maybe. I'd work the great ones 'round the clock. They'd surely unionize.

Baz Luhrmann, Tom Hooper, Quentin Tarantino

Here Baz and QT party post-SAG Awards with man o' Hollywood's hour Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). Hooper has won more Director's Guild competitions than either of them.

11 SAG Shots. Drink Up.

Since there is so little to parse anymore in terms of awardage, herewith a brief visual survey of SAG moments that lingered -- reaction shots mostly (fashion roundup still to come.)  During live blogs it's hard to discuss all the minutae. Particularly when you need pain killers. Anyone we always wonder what it's like to sit in the room, fully aware that the camera is constantly seeking you out. It must be excruciating madness for the camera hogs and the weirdly shy ones alike. Does anyone even nibble at their food?

Can Anyone Lip Read?

I never want to be able to lip read so much as when I'm watching awards shows. Something inconsequential had just gone on onstage and Andrew Garfield turns and chats with Jesse Eisenberg. Whatever could they have been talking about? If you can lip read, you must transcribe all these awards shows for us. Please and thanks.

Sometimes, particularly with emphatically earnest stars you can tell. After Juliana Margulies thanked her husband effusively, Hilary Swank says...

.

"THAT WAS SO SWEET."

You could even make out the emphasis on the "so"... I bet she even sighed audibly after like "Awwww." I couldn't make out who she was saying this too but at another table Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban smiled at each other knowingly. Hmmmm.

Camera Tricks?

Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman wree onstage introducing the clip to Black Swan and when the clip ends they pan the Black Swan table and they're sitting right there. How could a pregnant woman move that fast? Are they still doing those "head replacement" visual fx?

Mila and Natalie are so foxy. Speaking of...

Her Favorite Husband
Hugh Dancy, Hugh Dancy's Tongue, and Friend of Hugh Dancy (this shot is for Darryl)

He was reacting to Claire Danes singling him out as her favorite man and favorite husband as the music drowned her out.

Two Actresses Who Deserve a Good Gig

Since Christopher Guest does not make a movie at even close to the same speed as the Woody Allens and Clint Eastwood's of the world, why doesn't some sharp genius television creator give Catherine O'Hara her own series? You know she would ace it and make a character as memorable as Nurse Jackie or Valerie Cherish or other sitcom greats. And speaking of underemployed... Robin Wright was glowing. She hasn't looked this good since... well, ever. This new Robin Wright puts even The Princess Bride to shame. Look at her. What the hell happened? She looks 10 years younger and it sure doesn't look like surgery.

Mad (Wo)Men

It was not a good night for Mad Men as Boardwalk Empire became the new shiny toy of awards groups. Jon Hamm looked totally defeated when Buscemi won ("am I ever going to win anything for creating one of television's most iconic characters?") and when Christian Bale won for The Fighter we got this strangely frosty frozen shot of January Jones. After this split second she let her bottom lip drop a little, moving from frozen robot to sultry robot. But either way, she nails the frost in Emma Frost.

Speaking of Frosty...

This moment when barely anyone applauded for The Social Network and Andrew Garfield shrugged his shoulders 'you can applaud if you want' stuck a knife in me and twisted it. And not in the happy "omg. i died!" way. Just after that Justin Timberlake said something about the microphone volume so I guess there was a technical snafu in the room and [self delusion] there was actually thunderous applause from the crowd who must surely know that The Social Network is something the industry ought to be very very very very proud of and will SURELY know that it will be embarassing if they don't hand it "Best Picture". [/self delusion]

Now we need to cheer up...

Finally, Three Best Actress Reaction Shots.
Adieu Adieu to you and you and you...

Annette Bening looked genuinely happy all night -- but how silly is it that they always cut to the Bening-Beattys "Hollywood Royalty" whenever anyone over 60 is talking from the stage? Bening's joy in her own work and her movie is heartening since Her Majesty ain't ever winning an Oscar. Sigh. Nicole Kidman was a little embarrassed that they chose her single loudest moment in a quiet performance I think. But she also seemed happy. She never has any luck with "clips". Remember when they used her bizarre Three Stooges ready noisy-boudoir moment in Moulin Rouge! as her Oscar clip? Jennifer Lawrence giggles at her clip. I've already forgotten what her character Ree Dolly (Winter's Bone) was saying in the clip but it was some specific turn of phrase that was as regionally specific as Luke Skywalker bitching about Toshi Station Power Convertors on Tattoine. And just as alien, too.

Bye!