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By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

Soderbergh on film crickets

Todd Hill of Staten Island Advance blogs part of an interview with Steven Soderbergh, where he talks about movie reviews. “I just don’t read them. It’s just not something that helps me at that point. First of all, I’m usually already two movies away from what they’re looking at. They have a role, they just don’t really have a role for me. I’m aware of the general critical response to sswish_d195.jpgsomething as it affects the business life of the film. If you make a film that’s kind of a specialty film and you get trashed by everyone you’re going to have a tough time trying to break through. It’s like getting hit by a car and six months later somebody going, ‘You shouldn’t have stepped in front of that car.’ Yeah, okay. Wish you had been there. I have nothing to say in response. The film is what it is… I’m sure we all have complex feelings about the Internet. On the one hand, in theory, if you write about movies you can go on the Internet and write a 5,000-word piece on something if you’re so moved. The question is whether anybody will get to word 500 before they go, ‘Oh Jesus, just tell me how many stars.’ Culturally, that kind of question of whether there is a place for that kind of ruminative, complex criticism, that’s an open question, and not just for cinema, for everything.”

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“Just got back from Dark Shadows at the Lincoln Square IMAX (102′ wide screen, over 50 sears per row). I loved almost every second of it. What a shock. I can see why people under 49 hate it, and it’s not just because of its ’60s TV roots–it’s a very traditional, classic-style horror film: leisurely-paced, character-driven, beautifully designed (mostly real sets, not CGI), music used as a humorous or ironic underline, not particularly violent (there’s more blood in the 1970 version), perfectly cast with superb actors, and of course a nice sense of humor to balance the horror. No jump scenes, no teens sliced to pieces by some mask-wearing non-entity, just good old-fashioned story-telling. It’s more like Hugo than Hostel, and not just because it shares cast members and underperformed. And as for the much-derided third act: the complaints are horseshit. Everything that takes place in the climax is logically built up to in what precedes it. Yes, the werewolf is a surprise, but it shouldn’t be given the family history and that character’s behavior, and the explanation is eminently reasonable. In an era where Bridesmaids is considered award-worthy writing, it’s no surprise that many people have forgotten what a well-made script can be like. So fuck all the haters. Dark Shadows lived up to my expectations (no small feat), and should be seen by everyone who still appreciates quality, grown-up, Old Hollywood-style filmmaking. Cadavra has spoken.”
~ Cadavra on Dark Shadows

‘This grooming and styling thing? It’s fucking poodles. Human poodles. I feel sorry for a poodle because he’s a dog. You know, a dog is a fucking great creature. They would do anything for you. And the poodle gets a haircut. No one asks if the poodle wants his hair cut like that. Do they? They just fucking cut his hair like that. And he just walks around. And everyone is like, “Why is that poodle so snarky?” Fuck you. Style, I think, is panache. Who are you? What did you do today? And what are you worth to me? What do you have to offer the world? How did you spend your time today on this planet? How are you spending your time every second? What are you doing now? Are you alive, or are you somnambulant? If you are somnambulant, then you are a fucking prick. Style is your ability to be awake. But who the fuck am I to judge? I’m starting to get really arrogant.”
GQ: Whose tuxedo did you wear on the red carpet here in Cannes?
“J.Lindeberg. Because I really love his suits.”
~ Stylin’ Tom Hardy

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