the link i live in

Animation Magazine Have you heard that Steve Jobs wanted Aaron Sorkin to write a Pixar movie? It's be more interesting if he wrote a movie about Pixar. How would his sharp sometimes cynical wit mesh with Pixar's self-promoted internal cheer as the happiest workplace on earth?
Towleroad I say a few words about Pedro Almodóvar's latest
IndieWire interviews Elena Anaya on her role in The Skin I Live In. *mild spoiler alert*
New York Times "The Formula of Melodrama" brought on by Almodóvar's gripping The Skin I Live In.
My New Plaid Pants more pics from the set of Steven Soderbergh's flesh fest Magic Mike plus JA's hilarious commentary. 

Gold Derby finds fun elected trivia about Meryl Streep's upcoming nomination for The Iron Lady (what do you mean "if") 
Awards Daily pontificates about Olivia Colman's Oscar chances for Tyrannosaur. I saw the movie much earlier this year and she is brilliant in it. 
Culture Map Austin Kristen O'Brien shares memories of George Harrison, whose back in the cultural ether (not that the Beatles ever leave it) given Martin Scorsese's documentary. Love this bit about Madonna and Shanghai Surprise (which Harrison provided music for) of all things.

On this last visit to Friar Park we met first to view footage from the film Shanghai Surprise. I joined Dad to watch the dailies with Harrison and the principal actors in the film, Madonna and Sean Penn. After the screening, we went back to Friar Park for dinner. However, before dinner was served, we gathered in the TV room so that Madonna could get Harrison’s feedback on her latest as-yet-unreleased video. It was "Live to Tell," and she shyly played it for all of us, looking earnestly to George for his approval. After the video we watched The Muppet Show, and I remember thinking it was funny, but yet perfectly natural, to be sitting here with Madonna laughing over Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog.

CBR has a list of unproduced superhero movie screenplays that might make good comic books. Though I knew that Tim Burton and Michelle Pfeiffer wanted to do a Catwoman movie after Batman Returns... I didn't realize that an actual screenplay was turned in (and rejected). Either that or I've just forgotten to block out the pain. 
Keyframe Nick, Timothy and Kevin (three of my four favorite Chicagoans) are arguing over the Chicago Festival fare in this ongoing conversation including The Kid With a Bike, Miss Bala, My Week With Marilyn, and The Artist, and Melancholia. I'm happy to see Nick appreciated Melancholia as much as I did. Where is my review? Funny you should ask. Why am I procrastinating it so? 

Finally, if you're young musical theater performer type -- I know TFE has readers of that persuasion -- you might want to consider auditioning for The Glee Project Season Two. In the past I've always been violently opposed to reality shows which cast productions of anything. Casting should not be a democracy. It should be left to the experts or the people who have to work with the people that are auditioning. I had NO intention of watching this show but I stumbled on it one day and was surprised at how interesting it was. The audience couldn't vote (yay!) and it became this behind the scenes expose (albeit heavily edited and undoubtedly self-censoring) of how show creators react to talent who would love to work with them, and what does or doesn't factor into their hiring decisions. It reminds you of how true it is that talent will only get you so far (i.e. a foot in the door) but there are so many intangibles in showbiz.

'hey, girl. I got you these links.'

Film Critic Why We Need More Female Directors
Feminist Ryan Gosling 'Hey girl. Anne Fausto-Sterling has a theory that five categorical sexes would help break constrictive gender noms, but the only sex I need is you.' LOL! Best new novelty tumbler alert.
WQXR "Movies on the Radio" is streaming a long tribute to the music of Pixar to honor Steve Jobs in passing. Have a listen. 

The Front Row interesting piece on sex in the movies (by way of the two Fassy pictures) though I disagree with quite a lot of it. I personally don't think there's enough nudity/sex in the movies, given it's place in the general fabric of life nor do I think Shame is particularly coy about bodies.
Ultra Culture has quite a different view on Shame but loves it.
The WOW Report Cher being her awesome self, cheering Chaz on.  
Liz Smith reminds us why Tom Cruise is still a star, despite it all. With references to other legendary actors and actresses.
Empire this will only mean something to you if you loved the über indie Primer (which put so many big budget sci-fi movies to shame) many years ago. Its debut director Shane Carruth is finally working on another movie. 

The Critical Condition on Take Shelter. I haven't written about this movie and I guess maybe I won't, but I am quite in agreement with what Mark says right here.
Movie|Line no Liberace for your future Oscar predictions; the Steven Soderbergh biopic is going to HBO.
Serious Film doesn't think Oscar voters should forget these performances from earlier in the year and I must say they're interesting choices.
fourfour distills Downton Abbey for ya with giggles and sighs.

Today's Must Read Miranda July shoplifts for The New Yorker in "Free Everything". I heart. The New Yorker is the best magazine. The writing is always so good that it doesn't even matter what the topic is. I recent finished a multi-page essay on Taylor Swift and it felt like a thrilling page turner and I could not care less about Taylor Swift. 

To 2014, and beyond!

Andreas here, with a scoop courtesy of The Pixar Blog: a few tantalizing details have been released about two original, untitled projects on the Pixar slate, due out in 2013 and 2014.

The first, from Up co-director (and voice of Dug) Bob Peterson, will be about "a world where dinosaurs never went extinct." Pixar's already proven their aptitude for speculative fiction (i.e., WALL•E) and dinosaurs, especially when voiced by Wallace Shawn. And after seeing The Tree of Life's prehistoric interlude, who doesn't want more sensitively rendered big-screen dinosaurs?

The second, to be directed by Pixar mainstay (and unqualified genius) Pete Docter, "explores a world that everyone knows, but no one has seen: inside the human mind." I have no idea how to react to this, other than to squeal with childish glee. The Playlist adds that it's "wildly ambitious" -- and coming from the creators of The Incredibles and the Toy Story saga, that means something.

Between the abomination that was Cars 2 and the announcement of Monsters University, many of us had begun to fear that Pixar was entering a long, self-cannibalizing slump. But maybe they were just messing with us? That's what this news, coupled with the oh-my-god-it's-gorgeous teaser for Brave, seems to suggest. Ohh, Pixar, you were just lowering our expectations so that you could raise them absurdly high again, weren't you?

So, which of these Best Animated Feature nominees-to-be whets your appetite the most? The one with the dinosaurs, or the one that sounds like Inception, Pixar-style (but better)?

Pixar's "Brave" (and Animated Earworms)

Raise your hand if you think it was more sneaky-strategic than any secret intelligence spy movie move ever was to release the trailer to Brave (2012) at the exact same moment when the world was painfully realizing that Pixar is fallible while watching Cars 2.  (Yes, yes, the people of Planet Earth ought to have caught on to this during the snoozefest that was Cars but feeling very very sleepy has a less damning quality than feeling very annoyed; people do like a two hour nap now and then.) Redirect the conversation to a happier place!

So herewith the teaser to Brave which opens next June ...alas, not this one. This one is the one where we get Cars 2, damnit. We can't really break it down like Yes, No, Maybe So since it's only a teaser. We wait until the full trailer for that. But here's the gorgeously verdant tease.

We're all YES thus far.

Plus you know how we feel about red-headed heroines. Haven't been this excited to see a head of hair animated since Tangled was first announced... or maybe even since the first peak at Pocahontas back in the 90s ... that luscious windswept black mane. Oh what a sight it was.

P.S. If you can't get enough animation talk now that you're skipping Cars 2 (you are, right?) you might consider listening in on the Animation Fascination podcast which is talking to the animators Chris Chua and Austin Madison about their work on various Pixar films. That's them in kilts below while working on Brave.

Chris Chua & Austin Madison

It's an interesting background listen. Like, I'd never stopped to think how earworm irritating it would be to hear the same line reading over and over again for days on end while you're animating a movement within a scene!

Austin: For me it was Toy Story 3 working on the Potato Head characters, Mrs. Potato Head in particular. She's -- it's George Constanza's mom (Estelle ). That 'Georgie stop playing with yourself' -- that sort of voice. I had to hear 'MY EYE! IT'S BACK IN ANDY'S ROOM!!!' for about a week straight. You can mute it when you're working on blocking but as you get into the polishing phases you really have to listen to it over and over. I was ready to jump off the nearest bridge. Horrible.  
Interviewer: Does that ever ruin the experience when you watch the full film?
Chris: All the time.
Austin: It's tricky because working on a film -- it's really hard for us get perspective at all on a film and how good it is or isn't. To us it is -- you see it almost like a photo album. When I'm seeing scenes I'm thinking about all the dailies of that scene that's been playing in front of me dozens and dozens of times. I feel like only now I'm getting to the point where I can watch Ratatouille (2007) and fully enjoy it. It takes about five good years to get any perspective on a movie.

Can you imagine?

Mr & Mrs Incredible

June Wedding (reprinted from the TFE archives)

Helen and Bob Parr were married June 27th, 1989, at the church on St. Pablo Ave. Justice of the Peace Brad Bird presided. The bride is the daughter of Mr and Mrs. Conyers Georgia. The groom is the son of Mr and Mrs Craig T Parr. The bride wore an ivory silk Valenta ball gown. She carried a bouquet of white daisies. Best man was Lucius Best.

The bride is a graduate of Metroville University with a degree in hydrocarbon polymerology. She currently serves the public as a superhero. The groom also performs heroics. They plan to continue incredible crime fighting and reside in downtown Metroville.

[excerpted from the Municiperg Tribune, June 27th, 1989]


Happy 22nd anniversary to Mr & Mrs Incredible! (If Pixar must be in the sequel business, The Incredibles are beyond the most deserving, wouldn't you agree?)