Wilmington on Movies
Fast & Furious, Silent Light, Sugar, Adventureland, and paris 36

But the fact is that nobody transcends their vehicle in this movie. These vehicles are untranscendable. This script is undrivable. These speeches are unspeakable. The best performance in Fast & Furious is given by the Dodge Charger, or maybe the 1972 Ford Gran Torino or the F-Bomb Camaro or the 1987 Buick Grand National. The cars have the most charisma, and the keenest psychology. They also have the best lines. I hope they get their own movie soon, maybe one as well-written as Pixar’s Cars.

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Voynaristic
Gentle Pressure, Relentlessly Applied: Women's Voices in a Man's World
by Kim Voynar

When women speak about feminist issues, it's easy to tune them out; wrap the same ideas around female empowerment in relationships, the strength of women in communities, or the power of women socially and politically within smart, ironically constructed rhymes laid over a catchy hip-hop beat, though, and you start getting somewhere -- both with empowering young girls who will glean and hone their own philosophies and worldviews from the artistic expressions they're exposed to and, eventually, subtly infiltrating acceptance of those ideas into an entire culture.

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Wilmington on DVDs
Slumdog Millionaire, Danton, Il Generale Della Rovere... and more
by Michael Wilmington

Boyle pulls off this incredible cinematic juggling act with tremendous flair and panache. I wouldn't call the movie a masterpiece, but maybe I'm short-changing it. Slumdog Millionaire -- which won a ton of Oscars -- is more entertaining and memorable, more of a kick, than many films that are.

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MCN DVD
Slumdog Millionaire

The film literally could have been set in a dozen different locations and been every bit as effective as it was. Mumbai worked best, perhaps, because the teeming Garibnagar colony sat nearly adjacent to the Bollywood dream factory, thus creating a juxtaposition loaded with much metaphorical punch. Danny Boyle may not have known it at the time - Slumdog almost went straight to DVD, after all - but he created that rarest of treasures: a modern classic with universal appeal.

Also ... Seven Pounds, Marley & Me Tell No One, Twilight and more ...

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Frenzy on the Wall
The Mount Rushmore of Forgettable Actors
by Noah Forrest

Who could fill out this mountain? The criteria is a little complicated: they have to have been in at least a few good movies, they have to have been something resembling a major movie star who could actually open a movie (so Edward Burns would be out) and they have to be utterly forgettable to the point where you can’t remember a large portion of the films they’ve been in. So, for example, Kevin Costner would seem to be a good fit.

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Weekend Report
by Leonard Klady

The first outing since DreamWorks Animation's announcement of 100% 3-D production, Monsters vs. Aliens continued to fuel the enthusiasm for stereoscopic cinema. The picture had 1,550 3-D playdates (roughly 90% of available venues) that represented 38% of engagements and those playdates accounted for 57% of its weekend gross. The family appeal of the movie assisted the non-3-D showings which tend to have an even higher percentage of box office for live-action stereo films.
Weekend Estimates (Full List)

Wilmington on Movies
Monsters Vs. Aliens, The Haunting in Connecticut, Z, and Shall We Kiss?

The robot utterly ignores Pres. Colbert’s touching grand gesture of intergalactic peace and love, a spirited rendition of the “Close Encounters” theme, segueing right into the equally throbbing theme from Beverly Hills Cop. Perhaps the next number in this thrilling Colbertian medley was “Can’t Stop the Music.” But we’ll never know; the robot rudely marched off to tear down the Golden Gate Bridge, without even a nod to Ray Harryhausen.

Monsters Vs. Aliens	-	-	-
The Haunting in Connecticut	-	-	-	-
Goodbye Solo	-	-			-
Shall We Kiss?	-	-	-	-
Z	-	-	-	-
Duplicity		-	-	-
Knowing	-	-	-
I Love You, Man	-			-
Hunger					-
Sin Nombre	-		-	-
Sunshine Cleaning		-	-		-
Tokyo Sonata	-	-	-		-
Everlasting Moments	-

Frenzy on the Podcast:
Wiley Wiggins, Star of Sorry,Thanks
by Noah Forrest

This week Noah talks to Wiley Wiggins about his new film, Sorry, Thanks, being in the cast of Dazed and Confused, mumblecore films, and great sci-fi films.

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Voynaristic
In Which We Discuss the Need for Nicolas Cage to Stop Making Bad Movies
by Kim Voynar

By choosing to continue making films like Knowing, Cage acts to the detriment of both his fans and himself. He's capable of better, so much better, and I want to see that Nic Cage again. I want to see that passion, that raw energy, that sense of wisdom gleaned from a life of good and bad choices, that powerful emotional range that we've seen from him in the past. I want to see him reach inside himself and show us something real, something honest, something better than what we've seen of late.

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DP/30: Tony Gilroy

A 30-minute video chat with the writer-director of Duplicity.

“ We rehearsed for a week, just the three of us, which I had never done… I didn’t rehearse on Clayton at all… just the three of us, never at performance level, just to make sure… it’s a real tempo movie… everything is about tempo… and making sure that everyone could swing and that everything was there.”

The video interview is here .... or click here for a downloadable podcast...

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The Ultimate DVD Geek
The Spy Who Came in
From the Cold
by Doug Pratt

The black-and-white picture on the Criterion release is slick, smooth and spotless, and the monophonic sound is vivid. Since Martin Ritt's 1964 spy thriller is dependent upon mood and atmosphere to sustain its appeal as it lays the foundation of its narrative, Criterion's version is far more involving and far more effective. It isn't just that the movie looks and sound nicer. It's a better movie.

Coppola's Got More Tetro, With Three Gaily Colored Making-Ofs, Including "Vincent Gallo, Transcending The Father" And Notes On Why It's Shot In Black-And-White Widescreen

Pasadena Weekly Obits LA City Beat

"I'm always looking for love. Girls in sherbet-colored gowns going to cotillions, Marlborough girls in uniforms... Now I want rectitude, brain power and passion. Quite often I take what I can get."
James Ellroy Returns To One Of His Central Subjects, Serializing For Playboy His Hate-Love Relationship With Women

Taymor To Cast Unknowns In Her B'wy Tune-Slinger "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark"

"This couldn’t be more timely. It’s uncanny what Rand was able to predict, about the only things she didn’t anticipate are cell phones and the Internet."
Or, To Paraphrase Elaine May, "Pick Up 'Atlas Shrugged' And Pretend You're Reading It"; With April 1 Dateline, Zeitchick Recounts Wreckage Of Prior Attempts To Produce; Seems Sanguine About Latest

"For as long as I can remember, even as a little boy, I used to think it was unfair that someday I was going to die. Whose idea was it? I didn't decide to come to this Earth and I certainly don't want to leave it now that I’m here."
Hello, Viggo!

Teasering Fame

"Many years later, standing in front of the firing squad, Gabriel García Márquez, had to think about this afternoon..."
Colombian Nobelist Seems Finally To Have Called It Quits At 82

Hw'd Finds Downturn Opportune Time To Say No To Pricey Stars

Cookie Jar Bids To Swoop Strawberry Shortcake And Care Bears From MoonScoop

Red-Band Trailering Brüno (nsfw)

World's First James Bond Museum Opens In Former Museum In Cumbria

"Newspapers aren't assets to be flipped, leveraged, and stripped."

"I didn't agree to this."
Startling New Joe Wright-Keira Knightley Cut Is About Domestic Abuse And About Two Minutes Long

Focus Launches Baumbach-Jason Leigh-Rudin-Stiller-Gerwig-Duplass Comedy

"Bresson ruins our taste for the mediocre."
Gary Indiana On Robert Bresson
Plus - Bresson's Transcendental Tweets

Michael Moore Gets His Roger & Me Sequel... In ObamaVision

Wolverine FX House Rising Sun Pictures States They Never Had A Copy Of Complete Picture

Netflix's 2 Millionth Delivery: Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist; Renter Gets Lifetime Free Queue

The Daily Deadwood
"If you were a newspaper columnist in a big city like Chicago 50 or 25 or even 15 years ago, you were more than a little bit of celebrity, and sometimes you’d meet someone who might not otherwise give you the time of the day, but because your picture was in the paper, she’d dance with you at midnight."
Roeper Hopes To Still Be Writing For Sun-Times In 20 Years
And - "Hopefully, it will free the paper from the tax debt imposed on it by the convicted thieves, Black and Radler. I believe it has a future."
Ebert Sez Sun-Times Bankruptcy Good Biz Call
Plus - Front Page Of Trib/Sun-Times Bankruptcies Differ Radically
And - USA Today Loses 100,000 Readers Over Biz Travel Cuts
Plus - Julian Schnabel's Grandiose Luxury Edifice, Palazzo Chupi, Cuts Prices 30%
And - Nielsen Rates 1,600 Jobs
Plus - WIRED Rumored To Unplugs 20 Online Gigs

"Before, I would wait for someone to tell me what to do. But now I’m like a jazz artist and I go off the theme of a film. Now I’m always in character."
Elliot Gould Talks Drama
And - Last Schrader Standing Talks Mishima

Cannes Adopts Tarantino's Basterds

Don't Pay Attention To The Paranoid Hysteria Behind The Curtain
James Gray Uses P-Bloggy To Say He's Not Angry At Joaquin ... Goldy Uses The Opportunity To Blame The Net, While Citing Only Trad Media Like Mercury News, NY Post & Originating Times Of London Before Turning Obsessive Rage Onto "Hapless Web Dolts"

Fox Statement On The Law And Claws
Earlier - Early, Unfinished Post-Production Print Of Wolverine Leaked... Cease & Desists En Masse
And - "Okay... loving the hysteria... but so far, this is a completely 'inside the beltway' situation."

Slumdog DVDs, First Of Two-Caste Approach With Barebones For Rental, More Features For Collectors, Get Mixed Up In Production

Postering The Girlfriend Experience

"Hell with the orange juice. The hell with my suit. I need a lot because I got a petty heart."
Unpublished Nelson Algren Story Surfaces

April Foods Day!
Candy Science Nonfiction: ChiTrib Peeks Inside Peeps Factory
Or - You Can Take A Bite Out Of The Twenty Buck Grand Rapids Fifth Third Stadium Burger, With 5 Beef Patties, Chili, Nachos And Much More

WeinsteinCo, Lifetime, Uni Settle "Runway" Suit

"Twitter seems to be, first and foremost, an online haven where teenagers making drugs can telegraph secret code words to arrange gang fights and orgies."
McSweeney's Gets It

Cronenberg Gets French Légion d'Honneur On Wednesday

Celebrating Liquid Lunch For Coppola's 2005 Rubicon Estate Cabernet And Mark Caro's "Foie Gras Wars"

Slumdog Inspires Modern Indian Dance Fitness Trend In UK

Longworth Interviews Director Of One Of 2008's Best No-Longer-MIA Films, Forbidden Lie$, Now Opening NY/LA

David Thomson On The Doings At The Woodland Hills Motion Picture Retirement Home

Slate's Jack Schafer Pines For Return Of Yellow Journalism

Kristen Stewart's Life Is An Open Facebook

To Mark The Day, David Lynch Takes 30 Seconds To Reaffirm Commitment To Eating Cheese
And - David Carr Takes To Twittering
"Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters."
While - Esteemed 188-Year-Old Guardian Sez They're Going All Twitter, Including Archives

Tolkien's City Of Kings, Built From Matchsticks
And - Michael Bay Eats A Bowl Of Cereal
Plus - Trailering Anvil! The Story Of Anvil
And - Anvil! Live!

12 Foreman Mikhalkov Wrests Control Of Russian Kino Union

Bordwell Faces Kiarostami

99-Year-Old Art Director Robert Boyle Still Offering Advice

A Rare No-Go On Goodbye Solo

Adweek, Brandweek And MediaWeek To OneWeek?

"Something has to and will happen or the entire institution of journalism —which will soon become almost exclusively Internet journalism—will be dead and buried... The wannabe Murrows have become the de facto McCarthys, carelessly lobbing accusations and innuendos against unsuspecting victims."
Rod Lurie, Writer-Director Of Films & Series Focused On Powerful Women, Takes On La Finke... "The Unchecked Reporter"

Stuart Smalley Thisclose To Certification As Junior Senator From Minnesota, Taking Former Senator Coleman's Position

"It's easier and more relaxing to keep working: it generates a momentum and ideas. If you have a year at home doing nothing, it would be incredibly hard to get up off the sofa."
Michael Winterbottom Makes His Prolific Career Sound Effortless

"MPAA Decides It’s Too Hard to Measure Film Production and Marketing Costs"

Bankruptcy Court Allows Creative Loafing-Chicago Reader Boss Ben Eason To Retain Control

Edgar Wright's Lightly Amusing Blog Has Breakfast

"It deftly captures the exotic glamour of the underground car culture—the hot whips (as the kids call them these days) are lighted and caressed by the camera as if they were '40s Hollywood femme fatales."
Fast & Furious Starts P. Bloggy's Engines

"What I despise is when I read scripts, and it says: 'Enter Derek' and then in brackets: 'You gotta love this guy.' I'm not interested in the audience finding me likable. Gandhi is extremely un-likable. A f----ing stubborn bugger. David Kapesh, he won't suffer fools. I want my character to be seen, understood, not loved."
Another Waltz With Sir Ben

Where Are The Breakfast Clubbers Now?

Chicago Sun-Times Files For Bankruptcy: Staff Meetings Apace
With - Employees' Letter From Chairman
While - ChiTrib Shrinks Saturday Edition

5 Questions With Adventureland Producer Ted Hope
And - 5 Things The Matrix Got Right About The "Future"

"An outside theater, gardens hosting student art and an area where an international human rights film festival is planned are to be turned into a car park for a nearby TV studio."
Albanian Film School Battle Escalates

The New Directors/New Films Afterparty Only Starts With Sake With Armond White

"There may not be anything less than Twitter that can distract Wall Street from NewsCorp's stubborn and, at this point, unnatural newspaper fetish, and, as well, convince it, for one last hurrah, that Rupert isn't... well, gone?"
Michael Wolff Thinks Murdoch's Still On The Prowl
Earlier - Former AOLer Jon Miller Joining NewsCorp To Oversee All Digital
And - Ebert Sez He'll Never Be A Twit

Five Japanese Distribs, Kadokawa, Shochiku, Toei, Toho And Nikkatsu Set VOD Service In OK And HD

Michael J. Fox, Looking On The Bright Side

There's This Joke About The Producer And The Screenwriter In The Desert And The Punchline Is, "What, I'm Only Improving It For You!"
Maybe Carl Icahn Hasn't Heard This One At The Age Of 73, But Lionsgate's Hearing It
And - "The corporate raider wants someone to trigger the change in control provision that would force the company to default on its credit facility and debt."