Link to the Future

Past
The New Yorker a memoir about growing up with B Movies
Aint It Cool News looks back at Alien Ressurection. The Alien franchise is on everyone's brain now that Prometheus is (nearly) upon us. 
IndieWire the cooking channel's Baron Ambrosia names his five favorite food movies. Not the usual comfort food answers. The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover? Well done, Baron. 

Present
Coming Soon The Avengers will come to home video as part of a 10 disc set of Marvel Universe movies. (Hey they gotta move those Incredible Hulk discs somehow.) Details forthcoming. One billion dollars at the box office clearly wasn't enough booty! 
World of Wonder Charlize Theron teaches us to walk like queens. "Just think MURDER..."
My New Plaid Pants today is my friend JA's seventh anniversary online. His blog is still great. 
In Contention Michael Mann will chair the Venice Film Festival this year 
Emerging Artist Contest Quentin Tarantino is hosting a contest for upcoming filmmakers although finding your own voice here means remixing and mashing film clips from Django Unchained and others... makes sense that Tarantino would want a new voice adept at mixing old voices (sound familiar?) but if you're a filmmaker this contest is definitely worth checking out. 

Future
TMZ Lindsay Lohan on "preproduction" set testing out her Liz Taylor biopic look.
Awards Daily has the first promotional photos for Only God Forgives the Refn/Gosling follow up to the great Drive. Including this one...

Rope of Silicon seems that the Andy and Lana Wachowski have finally shaken off the Speed Racer blues with Cloud Atlas arriving soon and Jupiter Ascending which will "reinvent action" in preproduction. Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis will star.
The Mary Sue realizes that Charlize Theron is the coolest girl in the movies while she talks Mad Max and, uh, Game of Thrones. It's weird to me that people are still unaware that Charlize Theron is most awesome when playing herself... but welcome to Charlize fandom one and all.
24 Frames Kristen Stewart wants to make a new East of Eden picture, the James Dean movie being one of those pesky adaptations that sacrifices huge swaths of a book in order to make itself into a great movie. How rude of it! 

Three Notes On Two "Django" Photos

As you may have heard-seen, two official images from Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained have hit the net. Let's discuss both.

We'll start with Leonardo DiCaprio as the villain Calvin Candie

• Between this and the Great Gatsby, Leo may well just accidentally stretch himself this year leaving the Dead Wives Club (Rev Rd, Shutter Island, Inception) behind. Although in the case of his evil slave owner, perhaps there will be still be ghosts of women whose deaths he is responsible for. I'm speaking metaphorically so if you've read the screenplay don't be all "there are no ghosts in this movie I've read the screenplay!" reaction. Please and thx.
• Calvin Candie. What a character name, huh?
• Why is he holding a hammer: Amateur carpentry? I expect its for sadistic reasons because when it comes to hammers and the movies they're never used for good. I think the last time I saw a benevolent hammer in a movie was Witness (1985)... anyone remember that awesome church/barn building scene? When I think of hammers in movies I invariably think of Annie Wilkes Oscar-Winning Hobbling Instructions (1990) or that sick sick sick and infamous sequence in Oldboy (2003)

And here are Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx as Dr King Schultz and the titular Django

• No offense to Mr. Foxx but I still wish it'd been Will Smith because I always like to see what Tarantino can pull from certain actors. You know the kind. We think we've already seen too much to be surprised only to be very surprised. With Tarantino I like to see what he gets from megastars or from people who've never got the challenging role they deserve and Jamie Foxx is in neither camp of actor.
• I hope this movie is as crammed withmemorable characters as Tarantino's others so you can end up loving the movie without necessarily having any of the three leads as your favorite performance. Cups overflowing is how we like it.
• Despite the instantly recognizable stylings of Reservoir Dogs, the instantly iconic riffs and theatrical splendors of Kill Bill, and the impeccable glorious  Inglourious fashions, no Tarantino movie has ever been nominated for Best Costume Design. Ain't that a bitch? (Sharen Davis, who costumed The Help and Dreamgirls, does the honors this time in her first collaboration with QT)

Add your own notes. What 3 things do these first 2 photos say to you?

Django Unchained, Poster Teased.

It's a pity that there are 257 days left until Christmas. Am I right?

Isn't it wonderful when a movie can be sold on the name of their auteur alone? 

Wouldn't it be wonderful if final movie posters were ever as graphically bold as teaser posters?

Curio: Happy Birthday Quentin

Alexa here. Today Quentin Tarantino turns 49; somehow I thought he was older, if only because he has been in our consciousness for so long. It feels like forever ago that we heard Mr. Brown give his thesis on "Like a Virgin." His Madonna connection got some further milage this week with word that Madge wants him to direct the video for her new single "Gang Bang." ("All he has to do is show up with a camera.") Considering that he lent Gaga his Pussy Wagon, it just might happen.  

Here are a few creations celebrating the prince of palaver.

Quentin's bloody ear, by Gregg Gordon of Gigart.Tribute posters by Ibraheem Youssef

Click for more posters including Django Unchained. Plus: Vincent and Jules as mice...

Click to read more ...

Links: Poitier & Tarantino, Poppins & Gaga, Miyaga & Felt?

Movie|Line Quentin Tarantino loves Sidney Poitier.
Cineuropa Tarantino and Christoph Waltz will reteam for period film about an escaped slave Django Unchained.
IndieWire Focus Features will distribute Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom.

Salon on hot actresses pandering to fanboy culture.
Playbill gets quotes from the Tony Nominees
i09 wonders what this summer's surprise hit will be. I'm confused about how Super 8 could count as a surprise though. So much huzz on that one.
/Film Cameron Crowe reveals We Bought a Zoo images.
TOH! The Webby Award winners: Angry Birds, The New Yorker, Funny or Die, Web Therapy, etc...
MTV Keanu Reeves sidesteps the  'James Franco My Own Private Idaho Art Exhibit' question; he hasn't seen it.

Pretty Pictures
You may have noticed I've renewed my love of illustration of late. So here's a piece from the artist SAUL ZANoLARi called "Echnography of Change" which is using Lady Gaga and Julie Andrews to represent tradition and transgression. My first response is only that Gwen Stefani is going to be so jealous of Gaga [cue "Lonely Goatheard" yodelling]

"Echonography of Change" by Saul Zanolari

Anyway... Remember that "lesson" I drew up, about rewarding students with chocolate, a grand lesson delivered by Michelle Pfeiffer herself? Well I was clicking around to see other Illustrations for that same theme (it's a weekly art party) and I did find one other piece that used movies as a jumping off point. When2FeltEm has a really fun almost tangible looking take on The Karate Kid's Mr Miyagi. Love it.

I also enjoyed this bittersweet universal lesson from Letile and two funny efforts from Vhrsti, lord of the flies, and Hello Auki. Bunnies are always trouble!