Norma's Jewels and Other Shiny Film Objects

FourFour on Andrew Haigh's Weekend, one of this year's must-sees. I'll have an interview about this one up tomorrow. It opens in extremely limited release (for now) on Friday.
Gold Derby wonders if Brad Pitt has two Oscar nominations in him this year.
Moving Image Archive Someone stole Norma Shearer's jewels! OMG there are a ton of 30s stars in this short film: Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Irene Dunne, Loretta Young, Laurel and Hardy and the list goes on and on.... Fun! with terrible jokes !! 

The First Lady of MGM in "The Stolen Jools" (1931)

Nicks Flick Picks chooses his favorite Best Actors and Actresses thus far this year. Strong choices but even stronger twitter length writeups; I don't know how he does it.
The Self Styled Siren has some words on NYFF films and a few interesting one in extremely measured defense of I Don't Know How She Does It? but I love this prickly bit on the casting...

...offers nothing to much to look at except Christina Hendricks and Pierce Brosnan (who are wasted with prodigal carelessness)

Just Jared first pics from the set of Steven Soderbergh / Channing Tatum stripper drama Magic Mike. For some reason I never believed this movie would actually happen (just like I didn't believe The Avengers would happen) but they're both always snapped on set now so... what do I know?
Monkey See on why you should all be watching the sitcom Raising Hope 
L Magazine Dan Callahan (always worth a read) on the worlds of Vincente Minnelli, one of TFE's favorite directors!
Mission Hot Mama uses Michelle Pfeiffer to illustrate makeup tips to help you look younger. (Another thing that helps people look younger is using photos from a few years ago like that one. I kid. I kid. She's amazing at 53. Now, if only she'd get out more.) 
Awards Daily You may have been surprised as I was to learn last year that the majority of visual effects artists in Hollywood aren't unionized like so many other craftsmen. They don't have great working conditions and things have been getting worse. Even though most of the top grossing films are visual effects driven they aren't paid all that highly (relatively speaking) either. Here's the press release of a Bill of Rights from the Visual Effects Society. 

'Ladies' via John Cameron Mitchell, London & Moscow

Somewhere after the second 'Lady Dior' commercial starring Marion Cotillard (a project that's obviously a descendant of those hot "The Hire" commercials wherein A list directors used to create short films around Clive Owen's "Driver" and a BMW) I lost track of the commercials. John Cameron Mitchell even directed her but it premiered during Oscar season when my mind was most definitely elsewhere.

Dior must have liked what John Cameron Mitchell did for them because there's a brand new film (I saw it at IndieWire) wherein Ukranian "sand artist" Kseniya Simonova tells a story conceived by JCM in a live performance. The artist is only using what looks like a light box, a pile of sand and her fingers. That's it. AMAZING. You must also watch it with jaw agape (don't worry, no sand will enter your mouth) because I can't believe it and must share. 

And then there's Mitchell's entry in the Marion Cotillard series "Lady Grey London" if you haven't yet seen that one. That hourglass opening is such cheeky fun.

This sand motif, hmmmm. Does JCM think his time is running out? Nonsense. With three great movies on his resume already (Hedwig, Shortbus, Rabbit Hole) he's batting 1000. 

Madonna is a Member of AMPAS. Pixar Wears Kilts. And Other News

In Contention "No Refunds" sign posted outside The Tree of Life. It's the crazies.
Towleroad gay pride, Cars 2, Bad Teacher, James McAvoy, etcetera
Twitter Look, it's one of the most amusing Official Tweets of the weekend. 

I mean, who knew? Madonna votes on Oscars?!? They haven't even deigned her worthy of Best Song nominations even though she totally has been. 
Boy Culture reminds us that Madonna has good taste in movies. 

Cineuropa I hadn't been following the Cloud Atlas screen adaptation story but talk about complicated. It's got three directors: Germany's Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski (of The Matrix fame though I wish they were more thought of as the Bound duo); four Oscar winners: Berry, Broadbent, Hanks and Sarandon; six different stories all set in different eras with the actors playing multiple characters.
Wesley Morris if you're looking for a surprisingly strong defense of Cars 2. I love Wesley but Cars 2? Blech.
Everything I Know... reviews the stage to screen concert of Company with Neil Patrick Harris 
The Wrap Taylor Hackford will serve another term as President of the DGA. Congrats to Mr. Helen Mirren.
Filmes do Chico top 100 gay films. One may quibble with the order but how many have you seen? 

Oh, remember that movie The Rocketeer? Wonder why they haven't rebooted that? Here's a fanmade short celebrating it... well, the character more accurately.

The Rocketeer 20th anniversary from John Banana on Vimeo.

Off Cinema
Guardian I'd been wondering why we haven't received any Missy Elliott music in so long. Turns out she's been suffering from Graves disease. But "Block Party" is coming in the near future. Yay. And get well soon, Missy.
fourfour Rich's night out during the gayest of gay nights after NY's historic decision. 
The Daily What "Yahoo 'answer of the day'" in regards to the gay marriage decision. Hee.

Third Looks
I hope it doesn't disappoint y'all that I am not one to rush at every "exclusive" that's posted across 203,001 blogs at once whenever a new anything arrives. But here are three newish ones from the past few days that people seem to like and I do, too. From, respectively:  The Hobbit, The Raven and Pixar's Brave.

Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins in "THE HOBBIT" coming December 2012John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe in "THE RAVEN" coming March 2012Princess Merida in "BRAVE" coming June 2012

Final Fun Fact: The Pixar animation department is wearing kilts every Friday while working on Brave (2012). Isn't that adorbs? (I learned that here.)

"Brave", We Need You

Behold the blurry teaser poster (courtesy of Pixar Planet) for Pixar's Brave an original story with their first female lead "Princess Merida"

I normally wouldn't post a blurry advertisement, but having just seen Cars 2, I'm going to rub this teaser all over me for soothing balm. I need this one to be great. Cars 2 stinks (more later) and the Toy Story short that proceeds it "Hawaiian Vacation" is also soul-crushing. Oh Pixar, you said farewell to these characters so beautifully last year. You had a whole world weeping under 3D glasses and then you bring the whole gang back instantly for such a disposable mediocrity? What are we going to do with you? We depend on you! Love - a concerned fan since that bootleg viewing of Tin Toy in the 1980s.

"Bionic"

This brand new short film, from photographer/filmmaker Greg Williams (who won prizes a year ago for that Sergeant Slaughter short with Tom Hardy just discussed), gives newish meaning to the term Bionic Woman. The header says that a sex doll (played by French celebrity Zahia) exercizes her own free will... but it looks just like malfunctioning to me.

Bionic from Greg Williams on Vimeo.

 That shot of her with the banana is just painful (but funny), you know? Is it wrong to interpret her vacant eroticism as satirical commentary on Britney Spears's airheaded marionette carnality?

Android lovers are such a mainstay of science fiction, aren't they? Our two favorites have always been Blade Runner's Pris and A.I.'s Gigolo Joe. But maybe that's because they're two of the only ones in sci-fi movies. (Are they ever going to make a movie of Saturn's Children ... we're guessing no. Too weird and potentially NC-17)  We'll have cars that fly and maybe even teleportation devices before sexbots are a reality; sex is too complicated for scientists!

Speaking of Gigolo Joe... Williams shot Jude Law just last year for Madame Figaro.

We're always hoping that Jude Law has another Talented Mr Ripley in him. If so, when is it coming our way?