Fight the Power!

I'm planning to channel Rosie Perez all weekend. You?

Black History Month: Do The Right Thing (1989)

Our Black History Month celebration (through an Oscar lens) continues with Matthew Eng on Do The Right Thing's Screenplay

Whenever I think about Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, and I’ve thought about it with depressing frequency this past year as I’m sure many cinephiles and non-cinephiles alike have, I often think about one of two things. One is inarguably the greatest opening credits sequence of all time because it’s still such a resilient, red-hot act of hip-hop aggression and because the under-heralded national treasure that is Rosie Perez is never too far from my mind.

The second is a tiny, wordless connection that plays out at the end of a mid-film scene between Ossie Davis’ elderly, self-appointed voice of the community Da Mayor and Christa Rivers’ Ella, the lone girl within the comedic teenage foursome that we see running around throughout the course of the movie. In the scene, Ella’s friend Ahmad (Steve White) has just lambasted Da Mayor for daring to criticize the behavior of he and his friends since he himself is a drunk and irresponsible vagrant whose infamous reputation is old news within their Bed-Stuy neighborhood. 

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Tues Top Ten: Hottest Hotties of 1989

Here's abstew to continue our celebration of 1989 as the 'year of the month'. Happy 25th, 1989!

As we look back at 1989 in preparation for the Smackdown, it's important not to forget what the movies have always been about: really attractive people. The Me Decade of the 80's, perhaps the greatest/craziest time in regards to fashion and hairstyles, if they taught us anything at all, it isn't that less is more. Oh, no. More is MORE! More shoulder pads, more eye shadow, more crunchy perms with mall bangs. So let's celebrate the 80's excess with these cinematic hotties of 1989. 

Honorable Mention: Julia Roberts "Blush and Bashful Hottie", Daniel Day-Lewis "Method Actor Hottie", Meg Ryan "I'll Have What She's Having Hottie", Kenneth Branagh "New Shakespearian Hottie", Nicole Kidman "Just An Ozzie Girl On a Boat With Billy Zane Hottie"

10. Sean Connery

You Call This Archeology Hottie

Why Him: The once and eternally forever Bond star proved that even at the age of 59, he could still make the ladies swoon when he played Indiana Jones' father in the number one box office hit of 1989, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Romancing women half his age, and even managing to make a tweed travel suit and bow tie as sexy as one of Bond's tuxes, Connery like a fine aged wine, just got better with age.

Sexiest 1989 Moment: People magazine named the Scot The Sexiest Man Alive for its 1989 cover story. The headline hilariously reads, "Older, balder...and better! Here's one leading man who doesn't need to fake it." No word on exactly what other leading men were faking at the time. And apparently John Goodman was up for the title that year, so...yeah. People magazine - the nation's leading authority of unconventional sex appeal.

9. Rosie Perez
(and 8 more sexpots after the jump)

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"The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint" Begins Filming

I've bitched about millionaires crowdfunding their projects already but I do want to say that of the three most egregious recent examples on Kickstarter, I'm most interested in Spike Lee's. I like that he's taken to social media with such enthusiasm, which negates some of the ickiness of crowdfunding by focusing on the its first syllable.

The film already has a promotional poster...

...and is about human addicted to blood because the vampire genre is so woefully underrepresented in current cinema.

Anyway, Lee reached his $1.25 million fundraising goal two days ago (a few days early) and by the time people were blogging about its success, the director had already started shooting and that kind of enthusiasm and commitment is as infectious as bloodlust in the movies!

Today he instagrammed this photo with the caption: "Shooting Opening Credit Sequence For The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint."

anyone know who these guys are? None are Spike's regular DP Barry Alexander Brown

Spike Lee makes great opening credit sequences -- Do the Right Thing did the right thing. And that's the truth, Ruth -- but this shot cracks me up because of the years I've spent searching for First & Last images. That series taught me that the biggest filmmaking cliche for opening shots is non-descript images of the sky or sea. 

Still... we can probably trust Spike Lee & team to mix it up. He makes fine title sequences and that's the truth, Ruth. Remember Do The Right Thing? 

I (will always) ♥ Rosie Perez.

Performance Art, Baby?

Jay-Z, not content to let James Franco get all the "i'm not a ___, I'm actually an artist!" action, recently performed his new single "Picasso Baby" at MoMA for six hours (with breaks) as invited guests like art world giants, cool dancers, and several actors (Alan Cumming, Jemima Kirke, Adam Driver, Rosie Perez, etcetera) sat down across from him or stood on the sidelines to watch. The "art piece" (i.e. single / music video) really ought to have a "Jay-Z. Featuring Marina Abramovic" style byline since the rapper owes the basics of the concept to the performance artist who enters barefoot and touches heads with him. At least he gives her lots of footage in the video by way of homage.

Jay-Z with Marina Abramovic. Many artists are present.

Those of you who saw her in New York or caught last year's documentary Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present already know the gist of her most famous piece. [More...]

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