All for Link and Link For All

Variety are House of Cards and Hemlock Grove and other new instant watch series the saviors of Netflix? I sure hope so. I shudder to think of a world without Netflix and I've been very surprised at how gleefully people have watched its fall. Wake up cinephiles: there are so few services left that give us this much variety in movies. I mean do you really want to rely on Redbox if you want anything other than the latest blockbuster?
Bold Hype Gallery I'm so sad to hear about this Scorsese Tribute here in NYC after the fact (and so annoyed that it was only up for three days -wth?) but look at these amazing paintings from the just closed installation,
Inside Movies new pics of Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan in Spider-Man 5 (which is called The Amazing Spider-Man 2)

Awards Daily Vertigo and Kim Novak are guests of honor at Cannes this May
Advocate Darren Criss sings the gayest cover of "Call Me Maybe"... I bet you thought covers of that song were over?
Hammer and Thump will Spring Breakers continue to change minds about Harmony Korine's shock-friendly filmography? 

Ed Douglas (photo via BadAss Digest)Finally... And Quite a Lot Importantly.
[soapbox] Though I'm loathe to remind my fellow US citizens that we live in a selfish self-sabotaging world where 50% of the country thinks "we're all in this together" equals weakness (or, even more misguidedly,"evil") and thereby punish themselves and others by fighting against universal healthcare, I must. Ed Douglas, who writes for Coming Soon and who has been nothing but sweet to me my whole career (others say the same which proves he's a truly nice guy), was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Like many film journalists he is without healthcare so if you have it your heart or pocketbook to donate, join the fundraising effort. The goal was raised from $10,000 to $50,000 due to the immediate and very heartwarming response from the cinephile community but if you've ever seen a hospital bill you know that that kind of money can be gone in all too quickly (another reason we need to cut out the parasitic middle man known as the insurance industry whose profits are directionally proportional to blocking our access to healthcare... or just jacking up the prices for it if they can't find ways to block it) and just pay for healthcare for everyone. [/End soapbox].

Reader Spotlight: Lynn Lee

"Reader Appreciation Month" continues. Get to know The Film Experience community! Today we're talking to the very delightful and smart Lynn Lee who has her own blog where she muses on film & tv.

When did you start reading The Film Experience?

LYNN: I think around 2005. I remember our mutual friend Nick Davis hooked me on to TFE, and I've been reading it ever since. You bring such great insight, without a speck of pretentiousness, into such a wide range of films. And I love the variety of content on the site - the reviews, the links and blogathons, the first line/last shot series, and of course your raging actressexuality. 

Awww thanks. That last part I can do nothing about. It's just who I am! So, what's your first movie memory?

LYNN: The first movie I remember watching at home, over and over again, was The Sound of Music. I loved it, never got tired of it, could sing all the songs before I even fully understood all the lyrics. My first movie theater experience, on the other hand, was really traumatic - my parents took me to see E.T. when I was only 4 or 5, and I still remember crying hysterically at all the scary government men in white suits and E.T. appearing to die. Funny, E.T. is now one of my all-time favorite movies, but I still think it's way too intense for very young kids.

Since you went to Harvard I have to ask what you were thinking during The Social Network's opening scenes.

LYNN: Ha! I knew going in that none of the campus scenes were actually shot at Harvard, so at least I wasn't disappointed on that count. And some of the outdoor shots were actually pretty credible. But the party scenes - well, let's just say that if they had any basis in reality, I must have been going to the wrong parties when I was there.

Okay, three favorite actresses. Go.

LYNN: Ahh, favorites are so tough. Among those working today, Laura Linney is my #1. I first really noticed her in You Can Count on Me, but I remember the movie that sealed my devotion was an awful piece of dreck called The Life of David Gale, which was so terrible that none of its heavyweight cast escaped unscarred... except Laura Linney. Somehow, *she* managed to be fantastic when even Kate Winslet couldn't. I'm also kind of in love with Rachel Weisz, who brings class and intelligence as well as beauty to all her roles. And finally, Emma Thompson: will no one give this woman a role worthy of her talents?

You Can Count On... Laura Linney

Also a fan of Joan Allen (see note for Emma Thompson), Susan Sarandon, Amy Adams, Michelle Williams, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Kirsten Dunst, and too many more to list.

How many movies do you see a year?

Not as many as I'd like! Generally between 40-50 - most of them in theaters, if that gets me any extra points.

It does. It does. Have you ever dressed up as a movie character for Halloween?

Last Halloween I dressed up as Gwen Stacy from The Amazing Spider-Man, although I don't think I look very good as blonde. It was mainly an excuse to carry around a clipboard with a picture of Andrew Garfield attached to it.

Ha!

Previous Spotlights

Earth's Mightiest Links

Grantland "look, you didn't hear this from George Lucas..." on the upcoming Star Wars Han/Luke/Leia Reunion
i09 Bad Lip Readings take on The Amazing Spider-Man. And things get skanky
Hollywood January Jones not one of the cool girls but the Zeéeeee is? My world is crumbling. 
Comic Book Resources shows  mashup illustrations: superhero album covers 

Movie|Line ranks the indispensability of the actors in The Avengers for sequels but weirdly states that Scarlett Johansson's part in The Avengers left a lot to be desired. I think that's just Iron Man 2 talking. You can trust Whedon with your female heroes and he gave her a lot to do.
DListed Bradley Cooper didn't want that stupid Oscar anyway
Vine Naomi Watts does an excellent David Lynch impersonation 
Boy Culture Jonathan Groff & Zachary Quinto wedding rumors (we live in a whole new better world now - gossip rags now sharing gay marriage rumors instead of "who is secretly gay?!" stupidity)
Guardian "bottled by Jolie-Pitt and Perrin" 
Ultra Culture advertising Disney isn't doing for Oz: The Great and Powerful 

Today's Must Watch
A home-made Iron Man 3 trailer  (no computer fx) alongside the actual one...

I love when creative people meet endless free time on their hands. [via Core 77 and Cinefix]

Life of Link

Movie Line could The Canyons revive Lindsay Lohan's film career?
The Onion "Area Woman's Baseless Hatred Of Anne Hathaway Reciprocated" LOL
Awards Daily Oscar Post-Mortem. Great 2012 movies that received no Oscar nominations this season. Will you remember them, anyway?  

Wet Dark and Wild what is Jake Gyllenhaal up to? Prisoners
The Carpetbagger explains what's going on with Visual Effects in the wake of that Life of Pi speech so unceremoniously cut off by Jaws music on Oscar night
Vulture a timeline of Oscar weekend parties with appearances from Quvenzhané, Chastain, John Hawkes, a reunion for The Help.  I love this bit on Tommy Lee Jones... I mean who knew:

11:58 p.m. The most romantic moment of the night comes from Tommy Lee Jones, of all people. He's holding up an In-N-Out burger for his wife Dawn to graze on, while looking at her lovingly. She's literally eating out of the palm of his hand right now.

newsy
Coming Soon the new Annie, starring Quvenzhané Wallis will hit movie theaters on Christmas day, 2014 
Hollywood Carrie Fisher hospitalized after bipolar meltdown :(  
i09 Chris Cooper joining The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as Norman Osborne. Studios never learn their lessons and this one is getting as crowded as X3!
My New Plaid Pants Annie Wilkes herself, Kathy Bates, is joining the new season of American Horror Story 

The Links (Are Out Today)

These Links Have Little Do With Oscars.
Woot! We're (almost) clear!
Movie|Line the new Spider-Man suit. Try to contain your excitement that it's the same as the old one with bigger eyes. 
Stale Popcorn the week in Kidmania. (It's so gratifying to enjoy Nicole Kidman with the whole world again.)
Salon a mash note to Bailey Buntainn (the mini Megan-Hilty) on the increasingly stellar Bunheads 
/Film The Coen Bros rewriting Unbroken for Angelina Jolie to direct. Whoa. Smart movie Angelina.
Coming Soon James McAvoy make take on the remake of The Crow... although given the concept of The Crow I fail to see why it needs a remake OR a reboot. The idea is that the crow moves on to a new fresh corpse once you've had your vengeance.

Oscar Leftovers
TMZ Quvenzhané Wallis causes an explosion in puppy purse sales (Courtney isn't the only girl that got excited about them.)
HuffPo a producer of the Oscar winning short Paperman kicked out of the Dolby for throwing paper airplanes on Oscar night! 
The Verge Oscar winning doc short Inocente is the first Oscar winner funded by Kickstarter. Methinks it won't be the last 
IndieWire behind the current vfx problem in Hollywood. What the Life of Pi winner was talking about before the orchestra drowned him out.  
Towleroad was "amazing" the most overused word at the Oscars? 

Oscar Commercials?
I hadn't even thought of this as a topic but two of my friends had something to say...
Kari Artwork did his own zombie unicorn painting inspire that Tim Burton Samsung ad? 
Tribeca Film Joe Reid on the movie-star commercials that aired during the program 

Today's Must Watch
David Bowie recruits one of his modern day descendants Tilda Swinton for his new music video. YESSSSSSSSSSSSS 

For her next art project I would like Tilda Swinton to star as David Bowie and remake all of his music videos.