Type @ Me: Leo Drowns, Josh Barks, Nicole Poses

My time has been atypically divided lately and I've missed the social interactions that are part of blogging full time, whether that's rapidfire tweeting or IMing or whatever. So in the absence of your comments (seriously a Les Miz dropping without comments? first time for everything!) I thought I'd share some brief movies notes from friends/readers via text, facebook, twitter and such that made me giggle this past week about topics you just might have been texting your own friends about.

1. Titanic is a really long movie and friends get impatient when you're watching it and are supposed to meet them. 

He forgot to type "Spoiler Alert". 

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2. Readers know from Kidmania. Respect the actressexuality!

Jei Dee is psychic. Love this I do. Honestly I haven't been this excited for a Nicole Kidman performance (Cannes entry Paperboy) since the musical Nine. Not that that one turned out spectacularly well but I'm talking about preemptive enthusiasms. shut up. I loved Nine on stage. What can I say?

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3. One of my friends likes to torture me with incessant Chloe Moretz related messages. Stop it!

I can't keep blogging about the Carrie remake but yes, Julianne's involvement would make it SO CONFLICTING somewhat confusing for me. If only because my Julianne Completism would force me to actually see the sure to be stillborn movie. If you missed the post about why I'm already in hate with the movie, that's here.

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4. The reader poll "who is cuter: Josh Hutherson or his special-needs puppy?" prompted this response which gave me good lolz 

Hee. Weirdly Josh Hutcherson is winning said poll. I guess you're all cat people (yay!)

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5. "Chloe" himself Drew Droege responded to my "nineties" nostalgia article dedicated to him.

Unexpected shout-outs are heartwarming. This was almost as exciting as that time on Oscar night live-blogging when Sandra Bernhardt tweeted me about my strong [ahem] feelings about her snub in the 80s for The King of Comedy. 

Name Dropping for the Finale!

That's all.

We need a dumb catchy word like "sexting" that's about movie texts, don't we? Nothing works. "Flixting"? pues no. Let's come up with one, shall we?

5 Kidmanic Confessions

Confession #1: Whenever I see images or promotions from Hemingway & Gelhorn (2012) or think of Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen together, my mind immediately fools me into believing that they already co-starred in Closer (2004).

Yes, yes, yes that was Julia Roberts but I'm just telling you that my Nicole-addled brain attempts to force the recasting every time.

It tastes like yours only sweeter."

How hot would that have been?

More photos /confessions after the jump...

Click to read more ...

15 Days... (Remember When?)

Just a fortnight + 1 until Hollywood's High Holy Night

Remember what Jude and Nicole were looking at?
Remember when?

Jude Law Nicole Kidman Renée Zellweger

What profiles those two have, eh?

Continue for flashback / discussion

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Nicole vs. Juli. September 2012

Since there weren't enough prizes in the world for Claire "Temple Grandin" Danes and Kate "Mildred" Winslet, who will be our next "Her, again?" awards gobbler?

Will it be Nicole Kidman in Hemingway & Gellhorn vs. Julianne Moore in Game Change? The last time they faced off in awards season (2002) they were actually co-stars and Nic' won for The Hours (Julianne losing for Far From Heaven and The Hours albeit in two separate categories) . Or will they both be trumped by someone we're not thinking of yet when the Emmys role around in September 2012 and this whole awards circus begins anew? 

In this corner, Nicole Kidman as Martha Gelhorn in Hemingway and Gellhorn...

Yes - Philip Kaufman is directing and he's made some amazing films in the past like The Right Stuff and Henry & June. The last time Nicole Kidman lowered her voice this noticeably to play a ballsy writer, she won the Oscar.

No - Isn't there a danger of this gorgeous Star strolling through the rubble of war reminding people of Australia? They didn't much like that one. Four minute trailers always have the problem of making the oncoming product seem overstuffed, unduly episodic and desperate for attention. "And then this happened. And then this happened. And then this happened. And then this happened. Interested? No?" Uh... [Cue: flop sweat, razzle dazzle] Uh... Oh... okay the first part is shit but the second part is REALLY nifty! Ok.... she'd go ♫. I'd go ♫. we'd gooooo. ♫"

Maybe So - The success of this may well rest on the chemistry between Clive Owen and Kidman. Do they have it? And can Clive Owen work his way around the very vivid recent memory of Corey Stoll in this role via Midnight in Paris?

In this corner Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in Game Change... 

Yes - It might be fun to watch Juliannne Moore attempt biopic mimicry because it's not the sort of thing she's known for. And at this point we'll take anything that might win her an award. Has there ever been an actress as major who hasn't won any major prizes? She wins nothing. No Emmys, No Globes, No Oscars. 

No - "Fair and balanced" has been wiped clean of all meaning ever since Fox News took over the world, but where will this film fall on the scale of fair representation? On the one hand, it might be super to watch a take-down of Sarah Palin. But then again, the target is just so easy so it might feel way too cheap shot-like. On the other, excessive humanization of seemingly soulless political monsters through the magic of warm actresses (see also The Iron Lady) comes with its own queasiness, the humanization of dehumanizing idealogies.

Maybe So - Will anyone be ready to sit through more Sarah Palin when she's been so torturously around ever since 2008?  And can Juli work his way around the very vivid recent memory of Tina Fey in this role via Saturday Night Live?

"I have to win this thing. I so don't want to go back to Alaska!"What kind of bet are you laying down?  

Better yet, do you see awards attention beyond our leading ladies for these HBO Movies? Both have amazing casts. Hemingway & Gellhorn is giving us Clive Owen, Parker Posey, Robert Duvall, David Straithairn, Rodrigo Santoro and Molly Parker (in awards bait position of scorned wife). Game Plan is giving us Woody Harrelson, Ed Harris and Sarah Paulson and a ton of others in small roles.

Be brave in the comments and make some Emmy calls now!

We Should Read "The Paperboy"

Herewith a few notes on the newly released poster for The Paperboy which looks good enough to... read. The movie is about a reporter (Matthew McConaughey) and his troubled brother (Zac Efron) investigating a death row inmate (John Cusack) who is involved in a steamy correspondence with a femme fatale (Nicole Kidman).

Is Zac Efron sending me a personal message by working with La Pfeiffer & Nic' back to back? 

        [plugs ears] lalalalalalalala ican'thearyou

I was once a paperboy. It's true. For years! Paperboys have gone the way of the milk man but when I was a kid this was a common job for suburban boys and girls to have. Then you'd do your collecting and spend all your hard-earned quarters at the arcade.

Nicole Kidman looks trashy delishusssss. Love the lusty smirk, like she's going to eat Zac right up --  not for his pleasure (!) but just to wield her own sexual power. Billing is always an interesting matter. If you can't be first, be last. Or rather "AND..." last. So Matthew & Nic' win.

Speaking of billing... I find it kind of interesting that the poster preferences the novelist and screenwriter above the Oscar nominated Lee Daniels (Precious) like it's a subliminal reminder of how great Precious was. Implied titles  The Paperboy: Based on the Novel "The Paperboy" by Pete Dexter.

I think the color scheme is really helping. It's like the movie is summertime hot but someone left the paperback on the beach and it got all washed out. The retro craze for teaser posters is really on, isn't it? Just like the retro craze is really on onscreen (at least three of the Best Picture hopefuls). I suppose ANYTHING is better than dread contemporary poster aesthetics: big floating movie star heads or those imagination-prison horizontal stripes. This poster manages to include all the stars (if that's McConaughey out of focus but I can never recognize him with his shirt on) without resorting to the stripes at all. Well, except for that last insert of John Cusack's threatening eyeliner. But even that plays like a fun "to be continued" comic book panel.

If the movie is as good as this poster, I shall write it steamy letters from my apartment prison.

I think we should read the novel while we wait for this because you know Lee Daniels isn't a copy & paste kind of director but someone who likes to play with visuals.  Who is with me? If so, say so... we need lots of blog projects to do it up real big like for 2012 before the apocalypse.