Features
Edgar Wright: “I am a film school reject. Twice!”
Edgar Wright, the director of “The World’s End,” talks about the dangers of nostalgia, his work on “Ant Man” and the amazing references some people think they see in his films.
Elmore Leonard, The Actor’s and Dialogue Writer’s Friend
Actor and writer Jim Beaver, costar of “Deadwood,” “Supernatural” and the Leonard-adapted “Justified,” on why the novelist’s dialogue was great for storytellers, and a treat for actors.
Thumbnails 8/18/2013
Director John Greyson (“Patient Zero”) arrested in Cairo; novelist John Niven writes about his brother’s suicide; David Kalat and David Ehrenstein reconsider Disney’s SONG OF THE SOUTH; top 10 movies about technology; how soon is too soon for artist’s to re-create real-life political violence in entertainment? Will success spoil Rose Byrne? Why is your posture so terrible? Why all the question marks? Click the link.
Thumbnails 8/17/2013
Hating “strong female characters”; the casual racism of “Orange is the New Black”; Linda Lovelace is not a porn star; why the Russian Olympics boycott won’t help gays; inside the Texas tradition of enormous homecoming corsages; Donald Glover’s new art film; Hal Hartley’s must-see moments
Thumbnails 8/23/2013
What Antoinette Tuff’s courage and compassion teaches us; James Cameron says all 3D is inevitable; Peter Jackson may direct a “Dr. Who” episode; the Hollywood feminism of “Tootsie”; a film about the 2011 Chile student riots; introducing Chelsea Manning; real film radicals.
Thumbnails 8/22/2013
Disney tries to win over gamers; Syria’s fog of chemical war; a Bechdel Test for LGBT characters; the series HBO was considering over “The Sopranos”; Wallace Stroby on Elmore Leonard’s legacy.
Thumbnails 8/21/2013
Why you should always go to the funeral; six reasons why DVDs will survive; a 40th anniversary celebration of “Super Fly”; Dr. StrangeCinema’s indictment of Spike Lee’s Kickstarter campaign; on Buzzfeed’s fatuous lists; Saul Bass’ legendary movie posters; Siskel and Ebert’s 1990 special about the “Future of the Movies.”
Thumbnails 8/20/2013
R.I.P, Elmore Leonard and Albert Murray; Pakistani ex-President Pervez Musharraf charged in Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, pleads not guilty; “The Lost Weekend”—the book—revisited; how the violence in Kick-Ass challenged comic book movies; what Quentin Tarantino learned from Elmore Leonard.
Thumbnails 8/19/2013
How U.S. hopes for a deal in Egypt were undercut; the “strained pulp” debate; a horror movie enthusiast defends “Notting Hill”; “Deadwood’s” Jim Beaver on a favorite episode; a case for abolishing tipping.
Thumbnails 8/16/2013
A TIFF strike is narrowly avoided; Russell Simmons’ highly offensive “Harriet Tubman sex tape”; Christina Yang as a groundbreaking TV character; novelist Francine Prose is no fan of “Blue Jasmine”; why audiences rate films so much higher than critics do.
Thumbnails 8/15/2013
Jenji Kohan on why she can write women of color; a campaign to save drive-in theaters; Danny Boyle’s 15 rules of moviemaking; Lee Daniels on how racism impacted funding for “The Butler”; memoirist Laura Bogart on writing and anger.
BBC “The Lady Vanishes” Only Strengthens Reputation of Hitchcock Original
Whereas Hitch’s film worked very loosely from the original novel, deftly
weaving romantic comedy and social commentary into the suspenseful fabric, screenwriter Fiona Seres’ take on the material focuses so intently on its “vanishing” that the tale becomes monotonous and too narrowly focused in its telling.
Your Subversive Comics Aren’t Nearly as Subversive As You Think: On “Kick-Ass 2” and Other Modern Pseudo-Adult Comic Book Provocations
Simon Abrams muses on the limits of the supposed provocations on “a handful of Bratty, pseudo-adult comics” including Kick-Ass, Irredeemable and Crossed.
Thumbnails 8/14/2013
“Orange Is the New Black’s” Uzo Aduba; a Hollywood actress’ career cut short by a hair dryer; why “Ginger Snaps” may be the most feminist horror flick of all time; old film magazines are now searchable for everyone; 17 reasons why women may make better directors.
“History is the Backdrop”: Lee Daniels discusses “Lee Daniels’ The Butler”
Lee Daniels, the director of “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” discusses his personal stakes in the story and working with Forest Whitaker on the way the character grows and changes.
Stylized Realism: The Cinematography of Breaking Bad, Season 1
Dave Bunting’s video essay on the cinematography of “Breaking Bad” Season 1, with an essay by Nick Schager.
Bernadette Lafont: The French New Wave’s First Leading Lady Hardly Ever Played “Lady-like”
French New Wave star Bernadette Lafont passed away July 25th. Lisa Nesselson writes about this bold, amazing actress.
