Curio: Suspect and Fugitive

Alexa here with your weekly arts and crafts.   Nathaniel's banana Bond boredom from last week reminded me of a project that Seattle-based artist Kris Garland/Rakka Deer did back in 2008.  Titled Suspect and Fugitive, the series involved making one item a day from suspect (questionable) and fugitive (non archival) materials. This involved Rakka combining pop culture portraiture with food (and sometimes other materials) in new and clever ways every day for one year.

Like this pancake Cate Blanchett...

Pancake Blanchett

Maybe Nathaniel should try this.  Favorite actresses and foodstuffs maybe?  In any case, here is some more inspiration courtesy of Rakka from Donnie Darko to Doris Day after the jump

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True Story: Boredom, Bananas, Bond

On Wednesday I drew a picture of James Bond on a Banana and posted it online.

Nathaniel R. "Bond on Banana" 2014. Mixed Media on Fruit, 9"x1½"

I have no explanation for this other than the perfect storm / terrible timing of innate online playfulness fused with genuine insanity and egged on by dread over Jury Duty to commence the following morning. Jury Duty is so boring (you just sit in a very official dull room in monotony waiting for your name to be called for 16 hours! I'm still there right now as you read this.) that on Wednesday I felt something akin to complete preemptive desperation to amuse myself. So when The Incredible Suit (whose blog I've always loved) promised he'd review it if someone drew Bond on a Banana, I did.

He kept his promise and I am left frightened at how deeply burrowed Daniel Craig in a blue speedo must be in my psyche. The worst part of the story is that I didn't have any bananas in the house when the promise was made. So... yeah.

I will be voluntarily committing myself to Bellevue Psychiatric shortly. It was nice knowing all of you!

P.S. I am mildly allergic to bananas but not to Bond's banana.

Our Link Summer

Must Reads
The Atlantic 'How Brando Broke the Movies' -excellent piece from Tom Shone on perceptions of movie stardom, acting and chameleon tricks
L'etoile on summer's anniversary nostalgia and childhood idles
Pajiba shares fun excerpts from Neil Patrick Harris' upcoming autobiography. Sounds like a must-read. The Scott Caan story is delicious 

More Links & News
The Guardian "The Glorious Folly of Dance on Film" Singin' in the Rain, Pina and more
The Dissolve Bond 24 gets a rewrite. But why? Daniel Craig returns of course with Ralph Fiennes and Naomie Harris in tow
Geeks Out Boo. Disney is taking pains to make sure we know that 'Wandering Oaken' from Frozen (the guy with the store and sauna) isn't gay like the internet said
Kenneth in the (212) Shia Labeuf and the Jordan Almond defense
Towleroad Gay Iconography: Bette Midler
Vérité recommends Rob the Mob (2014) with Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda. This is one of those rare 'under the radar' recommendations that actually is. I hadn't been aware of this Bonnie & Clyde like tale but I'm up for more Arianda for sure.

Off Cinema
Salon has a list of the 19 greatests 'double entendre' songs from "Brand New Key" to "Milkshake" and so on. I object to the exclusion of Cyndi Lauper's "She-Bop"
Gizmodo how long until we get this weird 'Smart Morphable Surface' technology in sci-fi movie designs? 

Oscar Notes / Production Design
In case you missed it as the weekend began, AMPAS made some minor adjustments to the rules (as they are prone to do) which In Contention analyzes. Mostly it's technicalities like how nominations are credited for Song & Best Picture but the super interesting one is that movies nominated for Production Design which feature heavily digital environments will now have an added nominee, the digital designer. I personally suspected /was hoping that the change which was bound to happen would be closer to the Black and White vs. Color designations that Oscar went through from the mid30s through the mid60s in cinematography and I was hoping it would happen in both cinematography and production design since visual fx achievements keep winning in one or both of those categories (think Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Gravity, Hugo, etcetera). But I guess that was wishful thinking.

Visual Index ~ Goldfinger (1964)

For the mid season finale of Hit Me With Your Best Shot, and since we've been revisiting 1964 for its 50th, we're looking at the James Bond classic Goldfinger (1964). After selecting the movie I began to worry that perhaps the early image of a dead beauty suffocated in gold paint was too iconic to have people looking elsewhere but trust this crowd to keep their eyes open and receptive to varying beauties. Or maybe the Best Shot club (open to all -why haven't you joined?) was just purposefully avoiding it due to its fame? 

Click on the images for the corresponding article...

GOLDFINGER'S BEST SHOTS
9 shots chosen by 12 secret agents of blogging
(in chronological order within the film)

The image, created by Robert Brownjohn is nearly prophetic and totally inadvertently so... 
-The Movie Scene  *new participant* welcome!

Girls, Girls, Girls..."
-The Film's The Thing 

The all-time perfect collision of the things that, to my mind, make Bond Bond..."
-Antagony & Ecstasy 

Margaret:  Sexy, sexy violence.
Anne Marie: I suppose that’s what happens when you bring your work into the bedroom.
-We Recycle Movies 

What I always loved about James Bond is his ability to get under the skin of his opponent - to instinctively know which buttons to push..."
-The Matinee 

 A cramped space that nonetheless is full of detail...
-Drew Byrd *new participant* - welcome! 

Hamilton and director of photography Ted Moore shoot much of this film from wide-angles, which makes the film look "big"..."
-Entertainment Junkie 

There's something beautiful about the Bond movies when they slow down..."
-Basket of Kisses via TFE  *new participant* - welcome!

Three layers of depth here..."
-Allison Tooey 

One of the most fascinating things about this iteration of James Bond is how ineffective he is...
-Film Actually 

Goldfinger, however, does know how to pop some colors..."
-Coco Hits NY 

We need to talk about James Bond's cock in Goldfinger..."
-The Film Experience 

Please check out these fine articles. I really enjoyed this finale - some really funny and interesting pieces this time. This is our midseason finale. If you'd like 'Hit Me' to return in July, please do comment and support the series through comments, shares, tweets, and likes.

Best Shot: Deborah's Choice From Goldfinger (1964)

Hi, Deborah here, from Basket of Kisses.  We're currently experiencing a site outage, but will be back up soon! Meanwhile, Nathaniel is graciously hosting my entry in Hit Me With Your Best Shot.

Best Shot is one of my favorite blogging series anywhere, but I've never participated until now. Nathaniel tempted me unbearably, though, by selecting a Bond movie. Goldfinger is a movie filled with iconic imagery; imagery that springs immediately to mind. So I should warn you right now.

This is not my best shot... [more]

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