"I'm major. I roar..."

I swear I'm not a whore!"

We Link Alone

Big Screen
BuzzFeed for your 4th of July Hangover... 18 ways Drop Dead Gorgeous makes you proud to be an American
Vimeo Best Supporting Visual Effects? in The Great Gatsby
Towleroad Tilda Swinton showing solidarity with Russian gays at the Kremlin
Deviant Art Claire Hummal is rethinking Disney Princesses with more period-accurate wear 

Amiresque on The Bling Ring
Under the Radar talks with Pedro and cast on I'm So Excited 
i09 for those who are not spoiler-averse "10 great movies where the heroes are doomed" 
Guardian here's a list topic I've literally never seen before... "the 10 greatest Arab movies"

Small Screen
Gold Derby Can Mad Men ever turn around its Emmy problems?
Vulture why hasn't ABC Family renewed OR cancelled Bunheads? Is there any hope for one of the best shows on TV to return? And if they wanted to capitalize on the acclaim, why on gods green earth didn't they submit it for Emmy consideration? It's all very baffling.

Today's Curiousity
Salon interviews Miranda July on her new celebrity-heavy forwarded email project "We Think Alone" with personal outbox appearances from Kirsten Dunst, Lena Dunham and more.

Two Faces of January. Three Faces of Beauty

Two Faces of January, a thriller based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, has released its first official still which includes Two Faces of Obsession (Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst... Oscar Isaac, backgrounded, has a good one, too). Viggo and Kiki are also in On The Road together (in which Viggo is particularly fantastic in a showy small part) though they share no scenes.

No word yet on who did the costumes but I like 'em.

I read this novel at some point but I don't remember a thing about it other than the Greece setting, that it was moody and triangular, and that the ending disappointed me - don't remember why just that it did. Still. Highsmith transfers well to film (see her 'Ripliad' series which has been adapted a few times already)

poll by twiigs.com

(When I was researching that poll I was said to hear that Barry Pepper had also starred in a Mr. Ripley adaptation called  Ripley Under Ground (2005) but the movie was never released. Barry Pepper really needs a more fortunate career.)

Hossein AminiTwo Faces of January is currently filming in Greece which surely can use all this movie-making revenue of late (see also: Before Midnight) but it isn't a stylistic choice. That's where a good portion of the travelogue thriller is set. This marks the feature directorial debut of Oscar nominated Iranian British screenwriter Hossein Amini -- my favorites from his work are Drive (2011), Jude (1996) and The Wings of the Dove (1997) -- so The Film Experience is officially rooting for success as he makes the jump behind cameras.

My Perfect Trio at the "Bachelorette" Premiere

[Editor's note: Please welcome our special guest star writer/director Leslye Headland, exclusive from her press tour for Bachelorette! -Nathaniel]

Hello blogosphere!

I've been in Los Angeles the past few days for press and the premiere of my film, Bachelorette. However, I have to say the highlight of this week is a guest spot on The Film Experience. I used to be an assistant and every day I would read this blog. And every day it would make me feel like life was worth living and that film was the primary reason to keep going. So thank you to Nathaniel for asking me to contribute but ultimately thank you for running this site and bringing joy to little cinephiles everywhere.

Me kissing Rebel's ring. As I should.

In the comments, someone asked if the three leading actresses in my film Bachelorette (Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, and Isla Fisher) were my first choice for those roles.

I don't write with specific actors in mind. I also LOATHE auditions. Whether it be for a play or a film, a lead role or a small one-line character. I just don't like them. When I work with my theater company in Los Angeles, I usually just meet with someone whose work I love, who I think might work in the role, then we have dinner or coffee and discuss the character and the script. Then I usually go back and tailor the roles for their specific strengths and incorporate any changes that came out of our discussions.  

I cast the film the same way. All three of them contacted me either because they saw the play or because they'd read the script. We talked. We fell in love. We moved forward. All three of those girls are actresses I admire. Women I've watched from afar (as a rabid fan) over the last ten years. So yes. They were my first and only choices because I was lucky enough to get in a room with them and talk them into doing it. 

Lizzy, Kirsten and Isla at the LA premiere

All three of them contacted me either because they saw the play or because they'd read the script. We talked. We fell in love. We moved forward.

I can't imagine a more perfect trio. They are not only hard workers and hysterically funny but they are also, in my humble opinion, three of the most brilliant (and occasionally grossly underrated) actresses of our generation. I am eternally grateful to have met and worked with them.

-Leslye Headland

More from Leslye
Formative Movies from Childhood On...   
Working with Lizzy and Adam on a Pivotal Scene 

Kiki's Melancholia (& Other Saturn Triumphs)

Though I haven't yet seen any photographs of the Saturn Award event, held in Burbank this week and the last of the 2011 Film Awards -- arriving even later than the MTV Awards each year  -- we must rush to congratulate the one and only Kiki for her Best Actress win for Lars von Trier's apocalyptic arthouse amazement Melancholia. You may recall we also honored her right here in our Best Actress list. The Saturn Awards don't have anything like a prestigious reputation (often a problem with awards organizations voted on by fans) but they do have a long history (38 years!) which counts for something and you have to hand it to them this year that they're the only large non-critics awards group to honor Kirsten Dunst for her indelible embodiment of Planet Sized Depression though she did win the top Actress prize at a few film festivals (including the very definition of Prestige Reputation: the Cannes Film Festival) and was also honored by two critics orgs one minor and one major: Kansas Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics. 

A complete list of winners after the jump but if you're too lazy to click, please note that they seemed to love Super 8 best even though it didn't win any of their four Best Picture prizes. Wins and commentary if you...

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