Link You. Link You. And Link You.

GQ Winona Ryder's Black Swan parallels. She's being replaced! "I'm at that age I've been warned my whole life about"
Lisanti Quarterly a mysterious top ten list. Such fun. Try to guess the movies ... or even the film year for that matter.
In Contention Can that late breaking Fighter overtake the Best Pic frontrunners? Interesting question.
Indie Wire Film Comment's top 50 - the tippity top exactly mirrors those Los Angeles Film Critics Awards last week.
Go Fug Yourself a touching Burlesque conversation between Cher & Christina Aguilera
Movie|Line is rooting for Alanis Morrissette in the Original Song race

It's Roger Ebert's World...
Roger Ebert reveals his top ten list... make that top twenty-two lists. He's beloved and he's an enjoyable writer as always but I have to say that his film taste has always bewildered me; The King's Speech greater than Black Swan or I Am Love? Secretariat and Hereafter compared qualitatively to Another Year and Rabbit Hole? Does not compute. Although it does compute as more middlebrow Academy friendly than many film critics so his opinions are always worth watching when speculating about Oscarish enthusiasms. But on the other hand, here's his rulebook for critics. It's kind of awesome.

Red Carpet Lineup: Swan Break

The New York premiere of Black Swan was held last night at the Ziegfeld which is the theater for premiere's here in Manhattan. I have so many fond memories of the place. All the stars were in attendance including Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Cassell and Barbara Hershey. Plus the deliciously dark rival ballerinas Mila, Natalie and Noni.

I think it goes without saying but I'll say it: Winona Ryder is still one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Those eyes. That coloring. Gah.

Why Noni is wearing a tux we can't be sure but we love that she did. Why Aronofsky refuses to shave that Flynn mustache we can't be sure but we wish he would. Why Natalie is carrying around Nabokov's Lolita* we... wait, what?

There's got to be a story there. I hope it does not involve obsessive fans of The Professional.


*Okay, it's apparently a clutch by Olympia Le Tan  - thx Dom - fashioned as a replica of the literary classic. The replica costs only $1,321.00 more than the real thing. But can the real thing hold your lipstick, keys and money?

Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman

Links With Benefits

Journalistic Skepticism Oooh, it's a must read listen. Luke has collected the film scores this year. Which is your favorite and who do you think is winning the Oscar for Best Score?
Cinema Blend smart post about confusingly similar 2011 romantic comedies Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached. One twin thing that isn't mentioned: Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman, the female leads from the respective movies are sexually entanged together in Black Swan.
Towleroad A bit about Spielberg's Lincoln. Plus, my continued Harry Potter agnosticism . I don't even wanna see this one. Five hours to tell that book? And I've heard that they do spend lots of time moping in that tent. Argh. I don't even dislike the movies really (except the first two) but 9 years is more than enough for one series. Wrap that damn thing up already!
Austin Translation has some fun advice for future Disneyland travellers.
I.Z. Reloaded amazing Star Wars inspired art.
Vulture looks at the possibilities in a post Harry Potter world for Daniel Radcliffe.

Finally, have you read this great New York Times Cher profile piece? I particularly loved this bit about her surreal fame-filled life.

It’s an odd existence, Cher’s. When she recounted a late-night gabfest with two girlfriends in the bedroom of her Malibu manse not long ago, the gabbers in question were Joan Rivers and Kathy Griffin. When she flashed back to a favorite exercise class in Beverly Hills decades ago, the fellow crunchers and squatters were Raquel Welch, Ali MacGraw and, to a more limited and grudging extent, Barbra Streisand, who “would go over, do two little things, and then walk around and talk,” Cher said.

She refers to most of these people by first name or nickname only, figuring you can fill in the blanks. Nicky is Nicolas Cage, Kurty is Kurt Russell, Mich is Michelle Pfeiffer and Nony is Winona Ryder, who starred with Cher in “Mermaids” in 1990 but suffered a career setback after a subsequent arrest for shoplifting.

“It’s such a drag that some crimes are cool and some crimes are uncool,” Cher said.

Ha. You know why that "snap out of it" scene in Moonstruck is so infinitely funny/resonant? Because loving Cher (in ridiculous proportions to how much you probably should love Cher) comes so naturally; you have to be slapped to break her spell!

True story: Last night I was supposed to meet The Boyfriend for an event and I got confused about where we were meeting. I ended up at that big wall-painting of Burlesque I shared last week (which wasn't where I was supposed to be). A minute later he showed up just as I was ringing him.

"How'd you know where I was?" I ask.
"I knew you'd gravitate towards Cher."
*

The Final Linkdown

My beloved bloglines -- where I subscribe to hundreds of blogs and websites in case something interesting pops up -- goes the way of the dodo tomorrow. This is the final link roundup as you've come to know (and love / be indifferent to). I'm taking this opportunity to rethink my web reading and start from scratch in terms of what I "follow" since I spend too much time surfing, skimming, reading, wandering. Not that I won't keep sharing things that amuse me. Question: Would you like the Film Experience to have more frequent tiny-ass posts to cover a broad range of news and topics or do you enjoy the major compilations where everything gets smooshed together like so?

The Film Pie has an interesting "inside movie journalism" story about being the 'first' review posted on Rotten Tomatoes (re: Paranormal Activity 2).
Pink is the New Blog Jude Law on Sesame Street. Awwww. I don't get enough Jude Law these days. Or felt puppets. Both at once? Yes, please.
Low Resolution Halloween words of wisdom from Beetlejuice. Speaking of...
The Exploding Kinetoscope has some birthday wishes for Winona Ryder. Could her career be back on the upswing?
popbytes 'Hottie with a Rubik's Cube'. How 80s and now simultaneously.
Everything I Know... is not among the fans of Julianne Moore's Off Broadway musical Freckleface Strawberry.
Blog Stage considers the changes made for Rabbit Hole as it shifts from stage to screen.
Dear Old Hollywood For California readers: The Arclight is hosting a Steve McQueen tribute event on November 11th.

A Toy Story Moment
I thought this was cute. It's a moment of closure for director Lee Unkrich who has been working on the Toy Story franchise forever. If you've ever said goodbye to a long term project that you actually completed, you'll understand.



But this moment would be way cooler if we knew that there'd be no more Toy Story movies after Toy Story 3 which really did close the franchise beautifully. Sadly, Pixar, which once was THE studio for originality, is rapidly becoming like all the other studios when it comes to sequels and franchises and they're going to be beating all their horses way past the time that they're dead (to mangle a metaphor).

Finally, over at Pussy Goes Grrr Andreas made me lol with his love for Cat People. Have you ever seen that movie? There's almost nothing in the world I love more than clever people obsessing over movies. To this day I lol (literally) every time I think of the time Nick, hearing I had just watched Nashville, said "I want to rub that movie all over me." LOL. See, I did it again? It's too bad blogs don't have sound so you could hear. I speak the truth.

Oscar's Collection: The Youngest Best Actress Nominees

Another Oscar Trivia Explosion. This time it's the Actresses. 

Jennifer Lawrence made quite a film-carrying impression in Winter's Bone this past summer. It was one of the leggiest arthouse hits in some time, playing for months, and wracking up $6+ million without a huge advertising budget or bankable stars and with grim subject matter. Well done. At Christmas Hailee Steinfeld will lead us on a revenge journey in True Grit. While we suspect she's the lead actress as well, people her age are almost always demoted to "Supporting" if they're sharing the screen with a big star as co-lead and she is. Hi, Jeff Bridges! But we're pretending she's an Oscar lead today so as to have double the excuse to make this list. Humour us, won'cha?

 Imaginary Movie: STEINFELD. LAWRENCE.  WINTER'S TRUE BONE.

36 Youngest Best Actress Nominees

And where Jennifer or Hailee would fit in, were they to be nominated. (Winning performances are in red.) Disclaimer/Bragging: You won't find info this extensive elsewhere! The Official Oscar site / Wikipedia only offer top tens. However the following info is approximate. Though the Academy's top ten is down to the day of the actual nominations, they don't provide official nomination dates only ceremony dates. Inside Oscar and Wikipedia also only list the ceremony dates so we're just using February 1st, ∞ as a general calculation date for when nominations happened for given years.

Youngest "Best Actress" Wins: Matlin & Gaynor

1. Keisha Castle Hughes, Whale Rider (2003) was 13.
   Wow, well would you look at this? Either Jennifer Lawrence or Hailee would become #2 if nominated for Best Actress.
2. Isabelle Adjani, The Story of Adele H (1975) was 20. [more]
3. Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice (2005) was 20 going on 21. [more]
4. Ellen Page, Juno (2007) was about to turn 21. [more]
5. Marlee Matlin, Children of a Lesser God (1986) was 21
   She's the youngest winner of all time in this category.
6. Elizabeth Hartman, A Patch of Blue  (1965) was 22.
7. Kate Winslet, Titanic (1997) was 22 and 4 months [more]
8. Janet Gaynor, Seventh Heaven/Sunrise/Street Angel (1927/1928) was just a few days older than Winslet.
9. Leslie Caron, Lili (1953) was 22½
10. TIE! Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman (1990) and Winona Ryder, Little Women (1994) [more on Julia, more on Noni]
    They were both 23 years and 108 days old when they were Best Actress nominated. And here's another twin moment: it was the second nomination for both as they'd been previously honored in Best Supporting Actress.
    

    

    What's in the box? Your first BEST ACTRESS nomination!

    As you can already see this list skews quite a bit younger than the parallel "Ten Youngest Best Actor List which ends with a 27 year old.
    
11. Lynn Redgrave, Georgy Girl (1966) was 23. 
12. Liza Minnelli, The Sterile Cuckoo (1969) was 23. [more]
13. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace (2004) was 23.
14. Carol Kane, Hester Street (1975) was 23.
15. Natalie Wood, Splendor in the Grass (1961) was also 23. [more]
16. Joan Fontaine, Rebecca (1940) was 23. [more]
17. Laura Dern, Rambling Rose (1991) was 24. [more]
18. Merle Oberon, The Dark Angel (1935) was 24. 
19. Jennifer Jones, The Song of Bernadette (1943) was 24. [more]
20.  Julie Christie, Darling (1965) was 24. [more]
21. Shirley Maclaine, Some Came Running (1958) was 24. [more]
22. Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday (1953) was 24. [more]
23.  Jeanne Crain, Pinky (1949) was 24.
24. Carey Mulligan, An Education (2009) was 24. [more]
25. Joan Fontaine, Suspicion (1941) was 24. (becoming the youngest actress to earn Two-Time Best Actress Nominee status.)
26.  Teresa Wright, Pride of the Yankees (1942) was 24. [more]
27. Elizabeth Taylor, Raintree County (1957) was 25. [more]
28. Audrey Hepburn, Sabrina (1954) was 25.
29. Carrol Baker, Baby Doll (1956) was 25.
30. Maggie McNamara, The Moon is Blue (1953) was 25.
31. Natalie Wood, Love with the Proper Stranger (1963) was 25.
32. Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry (1999) was 25 [more]
33. Greta Garbo, Anna Christie/Romance (1929/1930) was 25. [more]
34. Carrie Snodgress, Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) was 25.
35. Gene Tierney, Leave Her To Heaven (1945) was 25. 
36. Grace Kelly, The Country Girl (1954) was 25. [more]

Audrey & Natalie (♥) are the runners up to Joan Fontaine's "youngest 
woman to achieve 'Two-Time Best Actress Nominee' status." They both did it 
by 25. (It was Natalie's 3rd nom, see also supporting, but she never won.)

26 year olds in chronological order are (winners in red): Katharine Hepburn, Morning Glory (1932/1933), Luise Rainer, The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Wendy Hiller, Pygmalian (1938), Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind (1939), Joan Fontaine, The Constant Nymph (1943), Jennifer Jones, Love Letters (1945), Elizabeth Taylor, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Shirley Maclaine, The Apartment (1960), Samantha Eggar, The Collector (1965), Faye Dunaway, Bonnie & Clyde (1967), Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl (1968), Liza Minnelli, Cabaret (1972), Jodie Foster, The Accused (1988), Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love (1998), Samantha Morton, In America (2003), Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married (2008) and Gabourey Sidibe, Precious (2009).

Why did I stop there when the male list went to 30? Well, have you ever seen William Wyler's The Collector (1965) with Samantha Eggar and Terence Stamp?

Sexy Stockholm Syndrome: Stamp & Samantha in Sixty-Five

In the movie Terence Stamp plays an unbelievably sexy charismatic creep --perhaps he's just meant to be a creep but it's Stamp so --  who stalks and then kidnaps a beautiful young redhead (Eggar) who he takes to his lair intending to wine and dine her. It's easy to interpret it as a deeply symbolic film about The Academy Awards and their annual mauling/coopting of young actresses into Oscar's circus. "Get in the van missy, you're going to the Kodak!" [Where am I going with this?  Abort. Abort... Note to self: Blog Tourettes Medication. Look into it. Not all trains of thought need airing.] 

Ahem... You'll notice, perhaps sadly if you're a trivia nut like me, that this list does not include everyone up to the age of 30 as the corresponding Best Actor list did. Let me put it to you this way: in the whole history of the Academy Awards the Oscars have only nominated a leading man under thirty 22 times in 80+ years. I had planned to make this list exactly parallel, but I wasn't yet out of the 1930s (the 1930s!) and I was already past a top 25 and there was no way the list would ever be finished given that there were still 70+ years to go! So I decided I'd have to stop at age 26 and even then you can see that the numbers just explode.

In other words... Terence "Oscar" Stamp in The Collector! Here are The Girls from the past decade.

  Youngest Lead Actress Nominees of the Aughts

Do these lists make you feel old? Perhaps you aged just trying to make it through?

TIFF Capsules: Passion Play, Black Swan, 127 Hours and The Conspirator

My friend txt critic is completing his Toronto journey soon but he sent another batch of thoughts for your perusal. He starts by taking an against consensus stand.

PASSION PLAY
By far the most loathed and eviscerated film of the festival, Mitch Glazer's brazenly out there, 20-years-in-the-works labor of love is extremely slow paced, unafraid to be laughed at for its sincerity and ridiculousness, and -- though I seem to be alone on this -- perpetually interesting. The plot basically boils down to "Mickey Rourke falls in love with circus-freak-with-giant-wings Megan Fox, and has to fight to protect her from violent gangster Bill Murray," so yes, it's silly, but I admired its audacity. Rourke is very very strong, Murray is always fun to watch, and... dare I say it? I thought Megan Fox was *gasp* pretty good (though, again, alone on this). Based on the response, though, who knows if this will ever see the light of day outside of the festival circuit. (B)

That is the sad thing about festivals, even if you're wise enough to mostly see films without release dates (I've never understood why people see things that will be out within in a few weeks) some of them will remain things that only you have ever seen.

SUPER
Basically a rougher, sloppier, darker version of "Kick-Ass," James Gunn's homemade super 'heroes' flick has some moments of madcap dark humor, and a surprisingly solid central performance from Rainn Wilson, but it suffers from a severe imbalance of tone, bizarre flourishes that don't add up to much, and a perpetual mean-spiritedness that left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Ellen Page steals the movie with her childlike ADD energy and karate moves, but Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon are squandered and seem like they wandered in from another movie. (C-)


127 HOURS
Danny Boyle's true story of survival has been received raputurously on the festival circuit so far, but while I liked it overall, I can't really jump on the bandwagon of fervor. Boyle's energetic directorial style and a bravura physical performance from the normally boring James Franco go a long way towards keeping us involved; But at the end of the day, a guy with his arm pinned under a rock just isn't an inherently cinematic or compelling story, and the jittery editing and flashbacks and hallucinations -- while understandable on a conceptual level -- almost seem like a betrayal of the realities of the situation. Also, as good as Franco is, we never (or at least I never) feel like we know anything about this guy, or why we should have vested interest in his fate. That said, Boyle and Franco do keep us wrapped up in the goings-on, and there are about a half-dozen sequences (including the insanely intense climax) that are pretty remarkable... at least until the epilogue steps on the "uplifting" pedal a little too hard/disingenuously to try to push this into Slumdog territory. It's a solid effort, and will likely go over big with audiences, but I was only intermittently feeling it. (B / B-)

Interesting take. Especially in regards to the betrayal of a gut wrenching terrifying monotony of the experience as it must have been to live. I'm nervous about this one primarily because I thought Slumdog was only OK and it actively started annoying me when people wouldn't shut up about it. Will we see a repeat of that mass hysteria? And if so does that mean Boyle will get to do anything he wants from now on?

And finally txtcritic disputes the positive notices for Robert Redford's Oscar bait and joins many in loving Darren Aronofsky's latest.

THE CONSPIRATOR
Robert Redford's dull as dishwater History Channel re-enactment depicts the true but little known story of Mary Surratt, the mother of the accused collaborator of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. While it's admirable that Redford would like to teach us all about a oft-overlooked footnote in history, he sure as hell doesn't do much to make it engaging, even with a pretty fantastic cast including Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson (sporting ridiculous old-timey mutton chops) and Kevin Kline. History nuts may be enraptured, but as an actual movie, it never breaks out of its dry, dusty courtroom procedural paramaters. All I could think of during the film (especially with the presence of Tom Wilkinson) was "John Adams" and the comparison is certainly not flattering. Blech. (C-)


BLACK SWAN
I hate to pile on more advance hype, but Aronofsky's much-anticipated psychological ballet thriller is truly staggering. A tightly-wound examination of the obsessive quest for artistic perfection, the film packs in one staggering sequence after another, and never allows us to breathe easy or get comfortable. Simultaneously beautiful and grotesque, it'll likely offput as many as it seduces, but this is a movie that will still be held on a pedestal a decade or two down the line. The comparisons being made to "The Red Shoes" and "The Wrestler" are apt, but there are strong traces of "There Will Be Blood" in here as well, in regards to the extremes to which it burrows into its central character. Portman does easily her best work here, carrying the entire film on her shoulders, and Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey are terrifying perfection. (A)

So... that's the first I'm hearing of someone really mentioning Noni. Could this be a comeback of sorts (I had assumed it was a teensy-tiny cameo since I'm purposefully not reading reviews I don't know one way or the other)? Since this film is not playing the New York Film Festival I will have to wait along with the rest of you until December 1st.

Come again?!? I can't have heard the release date correctly. I'm dying here.

Noni, Aronofsky, Natalie, and Barbara Hershey

Just for fun, here's what the Black Swan team wore to their big Canadian premiere. Mila Kunis did not attend.
*

"Monday morning you're history"

Great Moments in Screen Bitchery #8, Winona Ryder & Kim Walker in Heathers (1989)

Heather: You stupid fuck
Veronica: You goddamn bitch
Heather: You were nothing before you met me. You were playing Barbies with Betty Finn. You were a bluebird. You were a brownie. You were a girl scout cookie.

I got you into a Remington party. What's my thanks? It's on the hallway carpet. I got paid in puke.
Veronica: Lick it up, baby. Lick it up.

Daniel Walters SO deserved a Best Screenplay nomination. And the category wasn't exactly shabby.

P.S. It's a holiday weekend so posting may be a touch draggy. Have fun at your parties, whenever they may begin.

Till the Links Roll By

Antagony & Ecstasy - churns up a summer appropriate top ten list: best performances in comic-based films. Impeccable choices really (especially the top tier) and fine write ups (especially the two on Superman).
MNPP wants this Fright Night remake (another vampire movie?) immediately thanks to the wonderful-on-paper cast
Erik Lundegaard - is making a thorough, interesting trek through past Robin Hood films. Something I wanted to do but never found time for. Argh.
Sunset Gun "How Little We Know" a fine piece on the cinema of Wong Kar Wai, Days of Being Wild specifically


/Film has a lengthy word for word interview with Justin Theroux. Sadly it's only about Iron Man 2. I hope he acts again. David Lynch where are you???
By Ken Levine "The Truth about Lady Gaga". This article makes me want to watch Man in the Moon again. Remember that one? The one that was supposed to net Jim Carrey an Oscar nomination?
Deviant Art has a pretty amazing Pulp Fiction graphic, displaying the film chronologically. Something the film never displays don'cha know
popbytes Cynthia Nixon covers The Advocate
Just Jared Winona Ryder and Channing Tatum to play lovers in Ron Howard's Cheaters. Hmmm, strangely I like the idea, well, except for the Ron Howard part
A Socialite's Life John Barrowman as Alladin? Fun pics but why no more Torchwood? *sniffle*
Boing Boing Here's an interesting one for you small screen enthusiasts. This is a list from a tv executive explaining 12 reasons why certain shows get picked up by networks.

my favorite goodbyes to Lena Horne
Guardian David Thomson refuses to talk about Lena for 671 words
The Sheila Variations wonderful personalized tribute to Lena here
Time Magazine Richard Corliss kicks off their tribute with a 'shoulda been' obituary
Variety Ted Johnson has the Obama family's statement
The Auteurs Daily collects the online tributes and obits

Corey Haim (RIP)

You've probably already heard that former teen star Corey Haim was found dead today at 38, apparently of a drug overdose. Hollywood can unfortunately fill whole cemeteries with actors whose brief bouts of fame seem to have preceded (or caused?) drug-filled obscurity. Fame can't be easy to deal with, and though most of us can only guess, faded fame might be even harder still. [Not all former child / teen stars have difficulties with anonymity though. I remember seeing early 90s star Mayim Bailik (TV's Blossom but, more importantly, young Bette Midler in Beaches!) on an episode of "What Not to Wear" fairly recently. She seemed happy and content with just being a regular person.]

I never saw Corey's recent short lived TV show "The Two Coreys", in which he co-starred with his frequent screen partner and fellow teen icon Corey Feldman, mostly because the fame-whoring subgenre of reality TV makes me crazy uncomfortable. I don't feel "above it" per se -- I know many readers love reality tv so I'm not trying to get judgey -- but I just literally can't watch any show that's about the Z list. It pushes all my buttons and not in the good way. The talent contest wing of the medium is way more my style.

Corey Haim & Winona Ryder (her film debut) in Lucas (1986) [src photo]

Anyway... Corey Haim was a teen sensation when I myself was a teenager so it's sad news. I first became aware of him in Murphy's Romance (1985) a Sally Field comedy in her peak movie years and the high school film Lucas (1986). For me the latter film was all about the introduction of Winona Ryder. I was a complete goner the moment I saw her and told my parents that she was going to be hugely famous. (One of my most prescient movie-watching moments). So I remember Haim best as the obnoxious excitable kid brother in The Lost Boys. Corey provided the comic relief while his screen brother (Jason Patric) provided the dreamy brooding. My favorite thing about Corey's performance was how uncool it was. He was smart and funny enough to play actual fear while doing heroic things like fighting vampires rather than attempting the more macho posturing many actors do when they're required to do brave things like battling supernatural monsters in their caves. Always loved that movie.

According to his IMDb page, Corey had several projects lined up for the next couple of years so obviously some of those movies will have to recast. More on Corey's last days here.

Rest in peace Corey Haim, one-time vampire killer.

Beauty Break: Return of the Pixie

Two of Hollywood's most in-demand young actresses, Carey Mulligan and Mia Wasikowska are now sporting blond pixies. Who's next? Is the 'do about to take over? It hasn't been this Hollywood prominent since Winona Ryder sported it so memorably in the early 90s.


I looked at these two photos from BAFTA (previous post) and an Alice in Wonderland event this weekend and all I could think was Project Runway companion look challenge. Variations on a theme it is: black florals for blond pixies.

What do we think of Mulligan's dress? I almost love it but I really hate it, too. I plan to co-star with it in my next romantic comedy.

More Pixies from Mia Farrow through Winona Ryder. Annette Bening & Halle Berry are probably the true loyalists, always returning to the look.




edited to add: and my beloved NATALIE WOOD. How could I forget?!

Before There Were Websites... (Pt 2)

...there were scrapbooks (prev. pt 1)

Let's continue that silly reveal of my "Movies of the Eighties" scrapbook. I'm still hoping to locate the "Movie Stars of the Eighties" companion volume in which I ranked all the actors and actresses of the decade. Wouldn't that be a ROTFL experience? If I can find it I will share, despite the loss of dignity it will surely occasion.

Behold! To your left is the tv guide cover that started it all. I guess it wasn't an actual TV Guide as my personal mythology has always relayed but whatever television magazine thingie was inserted into the Detroit Free Press back in the day. That cover right there started my whole Oscar obsession -- look how worn, damaged and fingered it is. I thumbed through it so many times. What is this naked gold man they call Oscar??? This cover unlocked my latent awards mania. I had seen Tootsie and E.T. (massive family friendly hits both) but it was the center statue that seized my imagination. Soooo shiny.

Shiny shiny sha-na-na-na.
Shiny shiny bad times behind me

From there I became more and more movie obsessed. Based on the "everything I've seen" scribblings it looks like I was seeing about 25-40 films a year. Not all of the clipping collages matched the screening lists. I can't recall exactly what dragged me to theaters back then, but Dennis Quaid was a factor.


Do you know the 14 films displayed there? Some of them I barely remember...

The 1988 and 1989 pages are heavily Burtonesque with a late blooming burst of Pfandom by way of The Fabulous Baker Boys. I thought this clipping below was an interesting time capsule: a note about who might play The Joker before Batman (1989) was even filming. It was superhero casting speculation before steroids the internet.



It's smudgy but it reads

Although an unknown will be considered for Batman, Jack Nicholson (far right) has been mentioned in connection with the Joker. _____'s personal picks for the role are Ray Liotta (Something Wild, left) or Willem Dafoe (Platoon, center).

For the Record: Heath Ledger was 10 years old when Tim Burton's Batman arrived in theaters. Who imagined that Nicholson's Joker would eventually have to stand down?

If you want to see more of this scrapbook, say so in the comments.

But I wanted to wrap up this part 2 peak with this: Lists! Apparently I thought the best "losing sanity" performances of the 80s were:

Jack Nicholson Batman
Meg Tilly Agnes of God
Glenn Close Fatal Attraction
Meryl Streep Plenty

With the distance of time, I'd only feel comfortable standing by the bunny boiler. Not that there isn't much to admire in Streep's 1985 performance. But why only four performances? The magic number is five, Nathaniel, hello. Everyone knows that.

Stranger still is the "best sequels of the decade" ranking

5. Superman II 4. Star Trek IV 3. Aliens 2. The Empire Strikes Back 1. Return of the Jedi

That order is ALL wrong: Jedi is a sorry sibling to Empire, The Wrath of Khan crushes other Trek adventures and sentient humans and drooling monsters alike recognize that Aliens is the sequel of the 80s as well as one of the best action flicks ever. I like to think that somewhere inside I knew this and thus felt compelled to scribble A-L-I-E-N-S in large capital expanding letters.

Finally, there's the list of the movies I saw most often, "Again and Again and Again" This one honestly surprised me. I don't remember seeing some of these movies multiple times. I never see things more than twice in the theaters now. Unless the movies are called Moulin Rouge!

(4 times) A Chorus Line, The Empire Strikes Back, Dreamscape, Fire and Ice, The Lost Boys, The Princess Bride, The Secret of My Succe$s, Romancing the Stone, The Karate Kid, The Little Mermaid, Beetle Juice and Ladyhawke
(5 times) A Room With a View, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Clue, St. Elmo's Fire
(6 times) Batman
(9 times) Return of the Jedi
(10 times) The Breakfast Club

You know what question I am forced to ask now: What movie did you see the most in grade school, junior high and high school?
*

16 Years Ago Today...

...the starry The Age of Innocence team celebrated at the Venice Film Festival: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Michelle Pfeiffer and Martin Scorsese. Expected to be a major Oscar contender it came up short in the big six categories with only Winona Ryder snagging a nomination.

Which early festival success this year isn't going to go the distance?

Alice in Teaserland

Maybe "Tweedle Dee!" should be the new "Squeeeee!" for excited exclamations. You've probably seen the new images via USA Today and the info on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? But I'd like to talk about the cast and the polish. One of the only pluses of mainstays like 'Wonderland' being retold each decade over original work is to see how the different eras and visual artists interpret them.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Wonderland. If you click over to USA Today you can move
around in the gardens with your mouse. For what it's worth it looks like
Edward Scissorhands has been hired as Wonderland's landscape artist.

Mia Wasikowska as Alice (the oldest Alice since Meryl Streep?) and
Matt Lucas as Tweedledee and Tweedleydum

Helena & Anne Hathaway as Red & White Queens. Depp as Mad Hatter.
I love what My New Plaid Pants says about the latter: "if Elijah Wood
and Carrot Top had a baby" Ha!

The look is certainly eye-popping and I will be there on day one (March 5th, 2010 to be exact) but maybe the saturation (will it be garish onscreen?) and practically-an-animated-movie CGI smoothness is worrisome. Is Burton moving too far into George Lucas 'make it up on the computer later!' green screen terrain as a filmmaker? And given that we're seeing a batch of teasing photos a full 270 days before this is opening is this going to be one of those movies (like Terminator Salvation or Spider-Man 3) that shows and tells all prior to its release?

What, me? Worry???

I'm thinking about Burton's oeuvre today because i09 is remembering the game changing public mania that surrounded the release of Tim Burton's Batman 20 years ago tomorrow (June 23rd, 1989). Yes, long before Nolan made that crazy successful The Dark Knight, Burton was largely creating our current movie culture. Supermans I-IV beat him to the superhero game but their very rapidly diminishing returns didn't make the superhero franchise idea all that viable. It was Burton and that yellow and black symbol, plastered on everything, that did it.

Remarkably that particular Batman starred neither Johnny Depp (the star of literally 50% of Burton's filmography) nor Helena Bonham-Carter (who appears in 6 of Burton's 14 features). If the film were remade today they'd be your Batman Joker and Vicki Vale replacing Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger.

<-- You know they would!

I'm exaggerating a little since their absence was a given. Burton probably hadn't even met them. In 1989 Depp was still on 21 Jump Street and Helena Bonham Carter was that tiny corseted Merchant/Ivory dress-up doll.

Burton's Troupe O' Players

Johnny & Helena aren't the wild haired auteur's only favored thespians. He isn't quite Woody Allen or Scorsese in the steady faces game, but here's a list of his other pets. I personally think he's underused Sarah Jessica Parker who aced both of her Burton roles, totally understanding his peculiar comic tone.

6+ collaborations
Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham Carter

5 collaborations
Lisa Marie (Burton's ex) - Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, Planet of the Apes, Sleepy Hollow and the short Stainboy

4 collaborations
Christopher Lee - Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice
Deep Roy -Planet, Big Fish, Charlie, Corpse Bride

3 collaborations
Danny DeVito -Batman Returns, Mars, Big Fish
Jeffrey Jones -Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, Sleepy
Michael Keaton - Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns
Glenn Shadix - Beetlejuice, Planet plus Stainboy

2 collaborations
Albert Finney -Corpse Bride, Big Fish
O-Lan Jones -Edward Scissorhands, Mars
Martin Landau -Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow
Jack Nicholson -Batman, Mars

Sarah Jessica Parker -Ed Wood, Mars
Vincent Price -Edward Scissorhands and the short Vincent
Paul Reubens -Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Batman Returns
Alan Rickman -Sweeney, Alice
Winona Ryder -Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands
Timothy Spall -Sweeney Todd, Alice
Missi Pyle -Big Fish, Charlie
Sylvia Sidney -Beetlejuice, Mars Attacks!

Who are your favorite Burton players? Share in the comments. Do you think he should keep reusing people or move on like Paul Thomas Anderson when he left all his regulars behind for There Will Be Blood?

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previous post: "60 Appropriate Ways to Celebrate Meryl Streep Today"
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Saturday Night Link

Moon in the Gutter uploads an Elisabeth Shue clip from 14 years ago (!) and reminisces about Leaving Las Vegas.
Fin de Cinema has a ton of Cannes 09 posters. Love it
/Film a glossary of terms to explain the new Alice in Wonderland screenplay
Screengrab kicks Winona Ryder when she's down (fearing that she might get back up)
Carpetbagger looks at spring's limited release sleeper success. Can you guess which movie? I haven't seen it yet but I did take note here.
Big Monster Cinema has awesomely weird posters and taglines. I wish movie marketing would go completely B-Movie again.


Bleeding Tree apologizes for his original support of the PG-13
Birth of a Notion gives update and personal notes on Farrah Fawcett and her battle with cancer.
Cinema Styles has a thought provoking post on acting and 'career-long characters'

ULTRA SPECIFIC POINTLESS RANT
Have you heard of the film The Tree and the Forest? It just won the Jean Vigo Prize in France. That award honors films of independent spirit and style... they don't have to be considered perfect, just passionate and original. I find it maddening that in 2009 in the magical world of the internets I can't find any info about this film other than the names involved in making it. Boo. There are so many creatives out there making movies, music or art or whatever who still haven't realized that you have to have an internet presence. I've bitched about this before with struggling actors... it's self-sabotage not to have a website in the new century. Even semi-successful people make this mistake. For instance: I was looking up Sutton Foster the other day online. The first website that comes up (underneath Wikipedia) claims to be official but it hasn't been updated since 2005. Meanwhile Sutton has a new album out but you wouldn't know it was available for purchase unless you were friends with her on Facebook or you happened to know the title of the album and you searched for that. Get it together people (Sutton's hardly the only minor celebrity failing in this regard). You can sell more records, movie tickets, merchandise, even (theoretically) get more jobs if you are easy to find / accessible.
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