Don't hate him because he's beautiful.

 

Warren Beatty turns the big 7-0 today. Read why I revere the multitalented man (and in a movie you might not expect):

 

"According to Robin Morgan's The Book of Film Biographies, actor Warren Beatty is "more famous for his espousal of liberal causes and his affairs with actresses from Joan Collins to Madonna--despite his achievements." How unfortunate.

 

"This Hollywood legend has gone from pretty-boy method actor in Elia Kazan's 'Splendor in the Grass' to producer and star of the seminal anti-establishment picture 'Bonnie and Clyde.' He created and starred in films like 'The Only Game in Town,' a fascinating George Steven's gambling picture; 'The Parallax View,' a superb paranoid political thriller; 'Shampoo,' a dark satire in which he plays the only straight hairdresser in California; Robert Altman's masterful 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' and 'Heaven Can Wait,' a sweet romantic comedy that, consistent with '70s cinema, manged to feel depressing. He also directed and starred in 'Reds,' the critically acclaimed saga of John Reed and played a knockout Bugsy Siegel in 'Bugsy.'

For anyone who knows a few things about film history or read Peter Biskind's gossipy Easy Riders Raging Bulls or really, has any intelligence, you should understand Beatty's contribution to cinema is significant. But how about his contribution to comedy?

"Just as I revere Beatty for his work with Kazan, Arthur Penn, Robert Altman and Hal Ashby, I believe the actor to be one of the most underrated comic actors in the business. In his knack for it, the man is near brilliant. Where did he prove this best? In two films where he gets musical--Elaine May's 'Ishtar,' one of the most misunderstood and under-watched comedies of all time and Bulworth, a film that's almost a masterpiece."

 

Read the rest here.

 

 

Sigh. I love when people love.

 

In this case, I love the many reasons why Screengrab's Paul Clark loves Luis Bunuel's "Belle de Jour."

 

Here's a tidbit:

 

"Every great star has at least one iconic moment. For Marilyn Monroe, it was the image of her in 'The Seven Year Itch,' her dress flying in the wind of the subway grate. For John Wayne, it’s the final shot of 'The Searchers,' standing in the doorway with the prairie at his back, even as the door closed in front of him. If Catherine Deneuve has had an iconic moment — and she’s certainly star enough to warrant one — I believe it’s that single shot of Severine on the bed, her fantasies finally fulfilled. Of all her great films and performances, this is the one I return to in my mind again and again, and more than anything else it encapsulates why 'Belle de Jour' remains my favorite film."

 

Read his enitre ode here.

 

Friend, colleague and sparring partner (check for our Tarantino point/counterpoint smackdown early April here at MSN Movies), David Fear reminds people why Charles Burnett's "brilliant" and underseen "Killer of Sheep" deserves to be watched.

 

From Time Out New York:

 

"Anyone looking over a list of films that were released 30 years ago would notice that 1977 was a banner year for influential American movies—'Annie Hall,' 'Star Wars,' 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind,' 'Saturday Night Fever.' But their eyes might skip right over one of the more significant titles, a little-seen work of art that arguably trumps its fellow class-of-’77 members in terms of profundity. That would be 'Killer of Sheep,' Charles Burnett’s brilliant, peerless look at working-class people in Los Angeles, whose vision of everyday life plays like an inner-city 'Song of Myself.'

 

"If you’ve never heard of Burnett’s masterpiece, you’re not alone. After a mere handful of public screenings, the independent drama failed to attract distributors and quietly disappeared. It would resurface periodically at random revival houses, museums and festivals. Fans such as Steven Soderbergh and David Gordon Green repeatedly referred to it as a classic; the movie was later one of the first to be admitted into the National Film Registry, in 1990. Henry Gayle Sanders, who plays Stan, the slaughterhouse worker whose trials and tribulations make up the story’s emotional center, remembers getting phone calls from friends. 'They kept teasing me: 'Henry, man, you’re a national treasure!’ ' the actor, 64, recalls from Southern California. “'I had no idea what they were talking about until they told me that 'Killer of Sheep' was going to be preserved. Here was this little job that I did when I was starting out, and now it’s in the Library of Congress.'”

 

Read the rest of Fear's terrific piece here.

 

 

 

Yes, he is indeed playing a science teacher but one who must take "his family on the run when the world turns upside and a cataclysmic natural crisis threatens to end the world."

 

So the science stuff will help when he's punching various environmental villains in the face.

 

The film, entitled "The Happening," will be directed by M. Night Shyamalan with a release planned for the (oh so spooky!) date of Friday, June 13, 2008.

 

I'm not going to make a "what's the twist gonna be?" joke here, I'm just going to suggest an ending. How about the science teacher's best friend who is conviently Al Gore is actually the evil mastermind behind the whole cataclysmic crisis? OK. Bad joke.

 

Read the whole business at Variety.

 

 

 

Mia Farrow takes on director Steven Speilberg in an impassioned write up for the Wall Street Journal.

 

According to Contact Music:

 

"She writes in a Wall Street Journal article, 'That so many corporate sponsors want the world to look away from that atrocity during the games is bad enough. 'But equally disappointing is the decision of artists like director Steven Spielberg - who quietly visited China this month as he prepares to help stage the Olympic ceremonies - to sanitise Beijing's image. Is Mr. Spielberg, who in 1994 founded the Shoah Foundation to record the testimony of survivors of the Holocaust, aware that China is bankrolling Darfur's genocide?' Farrow went on to warn the SCHINDLER'S LIST director that he risked becoming a modern version of Nazi propaganda filmmaker Riefenstahl, who is famed for her 1936 Berlin games film OLYMPIA. She writes, 'Does Mr. Spielberg really want to go down in history as the Leni Riefenstahl of the Beijing Games? 'Do the various television sponsors around the world want to share in that shame? Because they will. Unless, of course, all of them add their singularly well-positioned voices to the growing calls for Chinese action to end the slaughter in Darfur.' According to official United Nations figures, more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been displaced since the rebels and government forces first clashed in Dafur in 2003."

 

I have to say that is pretty damn ballsy and brave of Ms. Farrow. It will be interesting to see if Spielberg responds to any of this.

 

 

 

Nope, I have no guilt in my adoration of Zach Snyder's Sparta crazy "300."

 

As I wrote on The Huffington Post blog:

 

"The negative reviews regarding '300's' bloody pro battle ethos have more to do with the director Zach Snyder and graphic novelist Frank Miller than my apparent lizard brain ingesting all of this mayhem and so called Fascist propaganda. According to some of these writers, I'm probably not really thinking as I watch the movie.

 

"But here's the thing. I was thinking. I was, in fact, acutely aware of how critics and viewers would perceive the battle glory CGI beauty of the picture. I did indeed wonder if many would be offended by the depraved, unctuous Persians cast against the Spartans--that uber machine of manhood and muscle. I could already hear critics bemoaning how King Leonidas' uncommon valor would inspire teenage boys to enlist and that military folk would probably high five and cheer while watching the movie (apparently this is actually happening.)."

 

Read the rest (including a little Fassbinder love) here.

 

 

This is one of the funniest opening paragraphs I've read in a long time.

 

Of course it was written by the fantastic Stacie Ponder (AKA the only living human I would ever marry if she would just have me) over there at Final Girl (AKA the greatest horror movie blog bar none).

 

Says Ms. Ponder:

 

"Did you know that there’s a 'Hitcher II?' There is, and it’s called 'Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting.' Somehow it seems to have gotten lost or overlooked in all the hullabaloo surrounding the recent remake of the original film- not that that's a bad thing, necesssarily. 'Hitcher II' is pretty much the same as 'The Hitcher,' except instead of Rutger Hauer as the psycho bad guy hitchhiker, this time around it's Jake Busey as the psycho bad guy hitchhiker. To me, this is the equivalent of going to a strip club once and seeing Angelina Jolie do a routine and then you return the following week and you see the same routine but it's performed by the mom from 'Growing Pains.' She’s lovely and all, but the effect isn’t quite the same, now is it?"

 

Yeah, but I still want to see it. No matter how Stacie feels about a movie, her reviews make me want to watch the films regardless (that is compliment to Stacie's skills). Hell, I will buy "The Hitcher II." But I've got a soft spot for C. Thomas Howell.

 

ComingSoon has exclusive photos from Steven Soderbergh's upcoming "Ocean's 13" and everyone looks hideously ugly! Seriously, I think I just went blind for a second.

 

Of course I'm kidding.

 

View the perfect suits, perfect sunglasses, perfect mugs here.

 

Woops.

 

Eddie Griffin totals a $1.5 million Ferrari Enzo.

 

My favorite part of this video? When Jackie Chan wants to watch the footage of the wreck. Why wasn't he taking it for a spin? The guy can jetski with a broken foot, I'm sure he can handle a Ferrari.

 

Man, do I love cars. Especially when Kurt Russell is driving 'em.

 

Here's my thoughts on those hub cap diamond star halo's (to quote Marc Bolan) after seeing "Death Proof" (from "Grindhouse") this weekend:

 

"I just watched 'Death Proof,' the Quentin Tarantino directed movie from 'Grindhouse' and hooolllly sh**. My big screen car chase itch has done been scratched. All I need are two beautiful muscle cars, a long dirt road and double maximum speed and I'm fine. Well, I'm better than fine, I'm bordering on one of those characters from Cronenberg's Crash. But more on Death Proof (and all of Grindhouse) later, I'm here to talk about cars--movie cars. To some of us, there is nothing quite like a bad-ass 1977 Pontiac Trans Am going up against a yellow Mercedes in a parking structure. Preferably with 1970s era Ryan O'Neal in the driver's seat.

 

"Which is why I've returned to a post (from my MSN story) about something I love more than, hell, Lee Van Cleef--the car in cinema... So here's my look at the 10 greatest examples of car cinema (not the greatest cars, that's another list I wrote, though these movies include all of my favorite cars), proving that autos can make not only a genre, but compelling characters as well. For these films, it's not star, but car, power. I'm taking my Torino out for a joyride now...

 

"10. 'Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry' (1974)
OK, so the film itself leaves something to be desired in the deep-meaning department. And the director dips into the cheap-thrills cookie jar one too many times. But Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry is lots of messy fun -- especially when involving automobiles. Peter Fonda is (crazy) Larry, a would-be NASCAR driver who, with his mechanic Deke (Adam Roarke), pulls off a heist and runs for a new country. But they also take Mary (Susan George), a nutjob wild child (who's really the "crazy" one here, anyway?), who makes the getaway a little more, well, interesting. Filled with all kinds of terrific chase sequences starring lust-worthy hotrod "characters" such as a Dodge Charger, a Chevrolet Impala and a Dodge Polara. This one's muscle-ri-fic."

 

Read the rest of my list here.

 

Uh-oh.

 

My beloved Headquarters 10 has reviewed the newest picture by my beloved Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg and his report is not so good.

 

According to HQ10:

 

"Everything that was fun and good-natured about HOT FUZZ simply disappears. While technically proficient, the last half hour of the film becomes downright depressing, watching these talented folks lose their way in nonstop action movie homages and a ridiculous plot wrap-up. One of the first arguments against my little critique would be that HOT FUZZ is cop movie and like most cop movies has to end with some kind of chase or shootout, and it’s a fair argument to make. But SHAUN OF THE DEAD didn’t end like most zombie movies ended and stayed a character piece all the way through the end. HOT FUZZ does not. In fact, all character development simply ceases and never rears its head again, and with it the fun goes, too."

 

Ouch and...ouch!

 

But he is, as Regis Philbin would say, only one man. Wait until this man (yes, I am the man here) watches the movie.

 

They're back...

 

"Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will reprise the roles they have made their own: teen wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively, in Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' the final two motion picture adaptations of J.K. Rowling's best-selling book series. The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

 

"In making the announcement, Robinov said, 'When Daniel, Rupert and Emma were first cast as Harry, Ron and Hermione, we knew they were not only talented, but had a very special chemistry. Through the years, and in each of the 'Harry Potter' films, we have watched them grow into extraordinary young adults, as well as remarkable actors. It would be inconceivable to imagine anyone else in the roles with which they have become so identified, so we are thrilled and proud that Daniel, Rupert and Emma have chosen to complete the arc of their characters in the final two films.'

 

"Producer David Heyman said, 'One of the highlights of this journey has been to witness Dan, Rupert and Emma blossom from children into young adults. They have emerged as consummate professionals who are dedicated to honing their craft and striving for excellence. And yet, throughout, they have retained their enthusiasm and spirit, and they remain, to this day, the same wonderful, kind and generous individuals I met all those years ago.'"

 

Yes indeed, they have all grown up. Some more than others, or at least it appears that way.

 

Read more gushing, "Oh my goodness it has been such a privelage, blah, blah, blah, blah here.

 

And then read how Emma Watson was waffling over playinig Hermione until she is 20-years-old here.

 

Can you imagine spending most of your childhood as a Harry Potter character? Actually, and, considering some other alternatives, that might be hella cool.

 

 

 

When it comes to Adam Sandler, I'm gonna be dramatic for just a moment.

 

I have been defending the guy for so long that I feel like I've been hitting my head against a wall for about...eight years? More? Even with the masterful "Punch-Drunk Love," I'm still put in this position of stating the funnyman's merits of not only a potentially great actor but a subversive one as well. And guess what? I liked him in "Spanglish."

 

So I'm happy to see so many positive notices regarding his performance in "Reign Over Me."

 

OK. End of rant.

 

 

"It’s official—Mark Wahlberg is a movie star. Though it seems kind of strange having to state such an obvious fact (I mean, he did star in blockbusters like 'A Perfect Storm' and critical favorites like 'Boogie Nights' and 'Three Kings'), it nevertheless needed to be said.

There are too many non-believers out there (and they have always baffled me). The guy is mad talented. He’s oddly good looking, incredibly edgy, wonderfully funny (Wahlberg has that natural comic timing that can’t be taught), poignantly vulnerable and at times, overwhelimingly romantic.

 

"When he was nominated for his pugnacious though surprisingly soulful turn in Martin Scorsese’s 'The Departed,' more people perked up and remembered, that’s right, Mark Wahlberg has some weight—as they should have. But even after his star turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s now classic 'Boogie Nights,' it’s taken a lot for the ex joke of hip hop ('Marky Mark?' Yeah, I remember) to be taken seriously. But this writer always took him seriously as an actor."

 

I go over seven movies including...

 

"'Fear'

"Wahlberg is always wonderful at playing the unexpected nice guy. A guy who can blow his top at any moment but one who would apologize after doing it (see 'I Heart Huckabees' later in this list). But in 'Fear,' he was just downright evil. As the bad boy boyfriend who woo’s a young (and really coming into her own) high schooler Reese Witherspoon, he’s sweeps her off her feet only to turn absolutely psychotic very, very quickly. He upsets her father (played by a terrific William Peterson), has sex with other girls and even seduces Reese’s not so virtuous best friend (yep, Alyssa Milano. Who else did you think it would be?). Directed by James Foley (who crafted the wonderful 'Glengarry Glen Ross' and powerful 'At Close Range') 'Fear,' oddly, was considered something of a teen B film at the time. I think it’s a potent cautionary tale that gets teens right— and Wahlberg is stunning as your father’s ultimate nightmare."

 

Read my other six picks here.

 

I know it means something else but I have a real problem with a movie titled "Bra Boys."

 

I have no problem with this being Russell Crowe's feature film debut as a director--he seems passionate about the subject and offered his voice for the documentary (of the same name). And the subject matter will be fun (Aussie surfer culture via the Bra Boys gang).

 

But again, the title annoys. And not for the female undergarment factor, I just keep hearing guys calling each other "Bra," which I hate.

 

But I'll get over it...

 

If you follow the career of David O. Russell, you've no doubt heard of his notorious on set behavour. There was that fist fight with George Clooney on the set of "Three Kings" during which the ever admirable Clooney stood up for an extra, and then there was all the hub-bub surrounding his curious antics whilst making his (in my mind) genius "I Heart Huckabees."

 

So it's no surprise that in our internet, YouTube age, some crazy footage would be leaked, in this case from "Huckabees." All I can say is--wow. Lily Tomlin and Russell don't just clash, they, or rather, Russell trashes the set, screams the "C" word and generally argues like he's had one drink too many and just discovered his wife sleeping with his brother--or something like that. Actually he just really seems frustrated and suffering from rage. I can understand angry artistic tension but this is almost impressive mad tension. But then I'm a huge fan of the guy's movies. I'm also crazy about Tomlin so I kind of wanted to smack him for screaming at her like that--I don't care who started the fight. Don't throw things at Lily Tomlin.

 

Over at the great Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, Russell, "Huckabees" and the footage is explained and examined with great depth and lots of intriguing questions that I think all fans of Russell (or any director for that matter) should ponder.  

 

Says Sergio:

 

"I’d be curious to hear from those who have film production experience, be they actors, directors, crew members, whoever—How do actors and directors involved in something this grotesque and public get themselves back on the rails, creatively and interpersonally? Clooney suggests that Russell walked away and, upon his return, pouted for the rest of the shoot in, I would assume, relative silence. But recounting the aftermath in such a sketchy way doesn’t indicate just how awful it must really have been, and it doesn’t seem much of a jump to think that the creative juices that Tomlin felt were oozing rather than flowing at the time of the blow-up must have dried up completely, at least for a while. And while I’m fishing for answers, I’ll fish for an opinion or two as well: Can working with a volcanic director actually be good for the creative process? If not, why (besides the money) would actors and crew members tolerate such behavior? Is this kind of threatening, off-the-rails, abusive behavior somehow actionable? And if not, why would anyone want to work with Russell again? Huckabees may be brilliant, it may be a mess, but one could hardly call it complacent—it’s in there scrapping for slivers of enlightenment and understanding right along with the people who made it and the audiences who choose to see it and run with it, and perhaps some of this striving, searching, reckless clashing of tones and spirits that are vital to the movie can be directly traced to this kind of passion, however misplaced it might seem. These are the questions. I have no answers."

 

Watch, read and think. Oh yes, and why is it hilarious when Russell enters the set again through the door to continue his rampage against Tomlin? It looks like something straight from the movie. No wonder all the actors were so good at the physical humor, they probably really, really wanted to shove someone. Or, as Jude Law's Brad Stand says, "I've though about hacking you up with an axe Albert, and smashing your face in with a baseball bat."   

 

But tyrant directors are as old as, well, the beginning of cinema. And I've never judged their movies by all that rage--I'm sure, in some cases, it helped. Otto Preminger's antics are not going to stop me from watching "Laura," "The Man With the Golden Arm," "Anatomy of a Murder" and "Bonjour Tristesse" (during which Deborah Kerr had to take Preminger aside and tell him to stop abusing poor Jean Seberg).  Didn't Robert Mitchum slap him while making "Angel Face?"

 

 

 

"This week's DVD releases are a little sparse in the must have department. There's 'Rocky Balboa,' a movie I'm not ashamed to say I loved, 'The W.C. Fields Comedy Collection' (which is essential) and most thrilling, the Criterion Edition of Jules Dassin's great 1948 noir, 'The Naked City.'"

 

Read more from my Sunset Gun blog wherein I discuss what I'm obsessed with this week.

 

And read much, much more about "The Naked City" (and other releases) from D.K. Holm over at GreenCine.

 

Another sad passing of a fine, fine artist.

 

Freddie Francis has died:

 

"Freddie Francis, who won Academy Awards for cinematography for 'Sons and Lovers' in 1961 and 'Glory' in 1989, died Saturday in west London. He was 89. Although he received his greatest acclaim as a lenser, with numerous nominations and prizes for his work on films such as 'The Straight Story,' 'The Elephant Man,' 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' and 'Cape Fear,' he also had a successful career as a director of horror movies in the 1960s and '70s for cult British studios Hammer and Amicus.

 

"Francis was born in Islington, London. Starting out as a still photographer, he entered the film business as a clapper boy, camera loader and focus puller. He gained experience with army film units during WWII, and, after the war, he worked as a camera operator on classic British films including 'The Elusive Pimpernel,' 'The Small Back Room,' 'Gone to Earth,' 'The Tales of Hoffmann,' 'Beat the Devil' and 'Moby Dick.'

 

"He made his debut as a cinematographer with 'A Hill in Korea' in 1956, moving on to shoot some of the pics in the new wave of realist working-class dramas, such as 'Room at the Top' and 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.'

 

"Francis stopped working as a cinematographer in the mid-1960s, when his directing career started to take off with genre pics such as 'Nightmare,' 'Hysteria,' 'The Evil of Frankenstein' and 'Dracula Has Risen From the Grave.'

 

"He returned to cinematography in 1980 with David Lynch's 'The Elephant Man,' working subsequently with Lynch on 'Dune' in 1984 and 'The Straight Story' in 1999, his last film. His last film as a director was 'Dark Tower' in 1986."

 

For "Cool Hand Luke" alone, we will miss and honor director Stuart Rosenberg who died yesterday at age 79. The inspirational, sad, funny and even biblical prison drama was his first film. First. Now that is something. And it's one of Paul Newman's greatest performances.

 

Rosenberg also directed Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts in two of their finest roles, "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and Lee Marvin and Paul Newman in "Pocket Money." And we can't forget "The Amityville Horror (a flawed but interesting picture) and, of course, "Brubaker."

 

As Paul Newman rightfully stated, "He was as good as anybody I ever worked with."

 

This bit of news is interesting to me. Just yesterday, I was driving back home to Hollywood from Santa Monica and caught a glimpse of the artfully snuff like billboard for the horror film "Captivity."

 

I said to my friend, "Huh. That is a pretty extreme ad to be hanging over the T Mobile store. I'm not against it entirely (well, huh...I don't know) but it just seems so...underground to be so...overground. I wonder if someone is going to complain?"

 

Well someone did. And the billboards are being taken down.

 

From The Hollywood Reporter:

 

"In the wake of a public outcry against Los Angeles billboards and New York taxicab tops advertising the upcoming movie 'Captivity' with images of the abduction, torture and death of a young woman, After Dark Films said it will take down the offending ads by 2 p.m. today.

After Dark, its theatrical distribution partner Lionsgate Films and the MPAA received a barrage of phone calls objecting to the gratuitous depiction of the film's star Elisha Cuthbert being tortured and killed.

 

"The billboards, first posted March 13, feature four frames with captions above each one. 'Abduction' shows Cuthbert with a gloved hand over her face; 'Confinement' features the actress behind a chain-link fence with a bloody finger poking through; 'Torture' depicts Cuthbert's face, covered in white gauze, with tubes shoved up her nose; and 'Termination' shows her with her head thrown back, seemingly dead.

 

"The ads appeared on 30 Los Angeles-area billboards and 1,400 New York taxi tops. After Dark is paying to have them removed -- and while some billboards in the Hollywood area were still visible Monday, others already had come down.

Lionsgate said Monday that it had no involvement with the ads, which were produced by Art Machine Digital, and that all the marketing for the movie had been handled solely by After Dark.

"'This film was done in association with After Dark Films. The nature of the association allows After Dark autonomy over their marketing materials, and therefore we neither saw nor approved this billboard before it was posted,' said Peter Wilkes, head of Lionsgate investor relations. 'Once aware of the materials and the reaction to them, we immediately asked After Dark to remove the billboards, to which they immediately and cooperatively responded.'

 

"After Dark said the posting of the billboards was an accident. CEO Courtney Solomon said the wrong files were sent to the printer, who then passed them on to the billboard company without approval from any executives at After Dark. Execs from the indie production company were attending ShoWest in Las Vegas last week and had no idea the wrong billboards were posted until they returned from the convention Thursday to a flood of e-mails and phone calls from angry parents and offended women. 'Personally, I wasn't going to go with this campaign. I thought it was OTP (over the top)," Solomon said. "Nothing like this can ever happen again.'"

 

OTP? That's for sure. But a mistake? Yeah, right.