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Jette Kernion

- http://www.cinematical.com/bloggers/jette-kernion/

Jette Kernion is a film critic and feature writer in Austin, Texas. She grew up in the New Orleans area, and has been writing online since 1998. While her high-school classmates were reading Seventeen and V.C. Andrews, Jette read Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine, in which Harlan Ellison's "Watching" essays inspired her to see and write about non-John Hughes films. Some of her favorite movies (this week) are Holiday, Some Like It Hot, The Wild Bunch, Evil Dead 2, and Brazil. In her free time, Jette also edits the Austin film blog Slackerwood.

'A Star is Born' Again -- with Beyonce and Russell Crowe?

by Jette Kernion Feb 4th 2010 // 12:45PM

Filed under: Casting, Warner Brothers

Russell CroweIs there some rule of the universe that once in every generation, a new version of A Star is Born must be filmed? Warner Bros. has been working for some time on yet another remake to accompany the 1937, 1954 and 1976 movies. I feel like "Hello everybody, this is Mrs. Norman Maine" (or John Norman Howard, in 1976) is a line that won't date well, but the story about a couple whose similar careers are on different trajectories could be considered timeless. Apparently the studio is moving on picking a director -- Nick Cassavetes is a possibility -- and a pair of stars.

According to the LA TImes 24 Frames blog, the front runner for the lead role this time is Russell Crowe. And the woman who's on the way up as her husband is on the way down may be Beyonce Knowles, who has been interested in an A Star is Born remake for some time. The L.A. Times article seems to assume that the characters will be musicians, as in the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, especially with Beyonce on board. If you think Crowe is an odd choice to step into Kristofferson's shoes, remember that the Gladiator actor has also pursued a career as a musician in the past few years. Jeff Bridges' recent success in a similar role in Crazy Heart may also be an incentive both to Crowe and to Warners to get this project moving. Do you think Crowe and Beyonce would have good on-screen chemistry together?

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Classic Cameos: Jane Wiedlin, 'Clue'

by Jette Kernion Feb 3rd 2010 // 11:18AM

Filed under: Comedy, Fandom

Jane WiedlinMusician Jane Wiedlin, perhaps best known as the guitarist for The Go-Gos, has a surprisingly long filmography. I always like to remember her as Joan of Arc in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, myself. But over the years she's appeared or loaned her voice to a number of movies and TV shows, from Star Trek IV to King of the Hill and most recently the 2009 women-in-prison homage Stuck!, which also stars Karen Black and Mink Stole. Wiedlin's character is named Princess. I hope the movie is as fun as it sounds.

Wiedlin's first onscreen role lasted about five seconds but is extremely memorable -- the singing telegram girl in the very silly 1985 film Clue. Maybe I remember this bit vividly only because when we watched it on VHS when I was in high school, my then-toddler brother picked up on her one line and would sing it in public to gather attention. (It worked.) And I have to wonder -- is it really a cameo if it's so short that you're barely recognizable? Back in 1985, when "Head Over Heels" was still getting radio play, I think so. Anyway, you can watch her brief and cute film debut on YouTube, without having to sludge through the entire hit-and-miss (mostly miss) comedy Clue. Check it out after the jump.

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Fan Made: Hitchcock-Themed Dioramas

by Jette Kernion Feb 2nd 2010 // 7:45PM

Filed under: Mystery & Suspense, Fandom

Psycho diorama"Master of suspense" filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock has inspired any number of directors ... and it turns out he's inspired some artists too. Over on Flickr, you can find a set of photos of dioramas based on Hitchcock movies. The dioramas were created for an auction at Bird Dog Video, an independent video store in Calgary, last year ... not recent, but Hitchcock art doesn't grow stale.

The Flickr set is called "Frenzy" but a number of Hitchcock's films are represented by the dioramas. The one for North by Northwest is fairly straightforward. The Birds was a popular choice -- this one is my favorite representation of the film. Of course the Bates family home is represented, from Psycho, as shown on the right (look in the windows!). But the diorama I like best is the one that re-creates part of the Salvador Dali-designed dream sequence in Spellbound, it's quite striking. I'm not sure I'd want it in my house all the time, though. Which ones are your favorites, and which movies do you wish were included? I would have enjoyed something stylish from Notorious, myself, or perhaps the berths from the train sequence in North by Northwest.

[via the cinetrix]

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Free Flick of the Day: The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks

by Jette Kernion Feb 1st 2010 // 7:15PM

Filed under: Documentary, Music & Musicals, Home Entertainment

Fearless FreaksI've been hearing all week about an upcoming Flaming Lips concert here in Austin, and while I'm unlikely to go (it's up against the opening night of SXSW Film), I do have an urge to see the Flaming Lips perform again. Fortunately, I can do this right from the comfort of my computer. SlashControl has the 2005 documentary about the band, The Fearless Freaks, available to stream online for free.

The Fearless Freaks is directed by Bradley Beesley (Okie Noodling, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo), who grew up in the same hometown as the Flaming Lips -- Oklahoma City. Beesley has also directed some Flaming Lips videos and helped out with Wayne Coyne's feature film Christmas on Mars, and is able to provide an intimate portrait of the band, not just a standard music biopic.

Although The Fearless Freaks shows the progression of the band and contains scenes of them on tour, it is really rooted in their hometown and family lives. Wayne Coyne walks around the neighborhood telling great stories about his experiences there, and the movie includes some wonderful Super 8 footage of the Coyne family. They called their family football team the Fearless Freaks ... thus the title. The documentary also gets very dark at times -- one scene with drummer Steven Drozd in which he discusses his then-addiction to drugs is especially chilling. This is not a movie for kids, but for everyone else, definitely a way to satisfy any Flaming Lips cravings.

Watch The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks for free at SlashControl.

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Free Flick of the Day: Cold Comfort Farm

by Jette Kernion Jan 19th 2010 // 6:02PM

Filed under: Comedy, Home Entertainment

Kate BeckinsaleIt is rare for me to love a book and its film adaptation equally -- or almost equally, perhaps with a slight bias to the novel in question. I am very fond of Stella Gibbons' 1932 novel Cold Comfort Farm ... and the 1995 movie, which you can watch online for free, is very nearly as entertaining. Flora Poste, played by Kate Beckinsale, is a 1930s headstrong young woman obviously modeled on the heroines of Jane Austen, particularly Emma Woodhouse (whom Beckinsale later played in a BBC production). Flora is left nearly penniless when her parents die, and rather than live with her friend Mrs. Smiling (Joanna Lumley) in London and learn how to work for a living, decides to throw herself on the mercy of relatives. She ends up at Cold Comfort Farm in bleakest Sussex with her Starkadder cousins, and the chaotic state of their lives appalls her so much that she sets about instilling order and neatness everywhere.

John Schlesinger, whose films such as Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man, worked with British TV writer Malcolm Bradbury on this faithful yet funny adaptation. It appears that Cold Comfort Farm was originally intended for British television, but Gramercy Pictures picked it up for theatrical distribution. The cast is absolutely perfect, and includes Ian McKellen as farmer-turned-preacher Amos Starkadder, Rufus Sewell (Dark City) as the incorrigible Seth, Miriam Margolyes (Prof. Sprout in the Harry Potter films) as practical housekeeper Mrs. Beetle, and Stephen Fry as London intellectual Mr. Mybug. The movie also features the best use of the Gone with the Wind theme music outside the film itself. You get an Austen-ish heroine, lovely Thirties hats, witty dialogue, and some of the best British character actors. So head over to SlashControl and take a look.

Watch Cold Comfort Farm at SlashControl.

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Bruce Campbell Prepares to Battle Frankenstein

by Jette Kernion Jan 19th 2010 // 3:15PM

Filed under: Comedy, Deals, Comic/Superhero/Geek

Bruce CampbellSome people out there will watch actor/filmmaker Bruce Campbell in just about anything; some are holding out until he shows up in a movie involving Sam Raimi, preferably Evil Dead 4; and a few know him only as the funny guy on Burn Notice. Those in the first category will be pleased to hear that Campbell has confirmed a follow-up to the 2008 film he directed, My Name is Bruce, in which he played an arrogant lout named Bruce Campbell who is recruited against his will to fight a small town's evil monster. I enjoyed the movie but noted in my review that it is unapologetically "an unsophisticated spoof of horror films and action heroes and fandom, about as subtle as a skeleton-finger jab to the eye."

In a short email sent to Ain't It Cool News yesterday, Campbell officially announced Bruce Vs Frankenstein, which will be a sequel to My Name is Bruce. As with the previous movie, the film distribution arm of Dark Horse Comics is producing. Campbell doesn't say whether he will be directing Bruce Vs. Frankenstein, or who is involved with the script -- this was the briefest of teaser announcements.

In an interview I did with Bruce Campbell when My Name is Bruce was released, he said how much he enjoyed directing the movie himself, especially with the Dark Horse producers, who weren't "breathing down his neck." So I suspect he'll direct Bruce Vs. Frankenstein too. In that interview, Campbell mentioned a possible sequel where "we'll do My Name is Still Bruce -- we have an Ugly American version of that where Bruce goes to Europe and battles a succubus." It sounds like they've decided to try something different -- and will be shooting in Oregon again, where Campbell lives, which he probably prefers.

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Classic Cameos: Brad Pitt, Matt Damon in 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'

by Jette Kernion Jan 19th 2010 // 1:45PM

Filed under: Comedy, Fandom, Brad Pitt, George Clooney

Brad PittSometimes the briefest cameos from instantly recognizable celebrities provide the funniest punchlines. Take for example the scene that takes place on the set of The Dating Game in George Clooney's directorial debut from 2002, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The camera pans to Bachelor #1, shaggy-haired and wearing appropriately groovy clothes, and ... wait, wasn't that Brad Pitt! That had to be Brad Pitt. Just as your brain is processing this, here's Bachelor #2 ... okay, this has to be Matt Damon, so that really must have been Brad Pitt back there. And then Bachelor #3 ... well, watch the clip below to get the full effect.

An IFC article about Matt Damon's cameos in various films gives us a little more information about J. Todd Anderson, aka Bachelor #3. He's a storyboard artist who had worked on O Brother Where Art Thou, which Clooney co-starred in -- in fact he seems to be the Coen brothers go-to storyboard artist on films from Raising Arizona to Burn After Reading. He worked on storyboards for Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, but apparently Clooney decided he would also be a perfect fit for the small role up against Pitt and Damon. The two better-known actors had co-starred with Clooney the previous year in Ocean's Eleven. The clip below is less than 40 seconds long, but a very funny use of cameos, without going over the top.

P.S. I hadn't realized that the boyhood Chuck Barris in this 2002 film is played by Michael Cera. I may have to watch the whole movie again -- Sam Rockwell is wonderful as the grown-up Barris, and Clooney gave himself a fun supporting role, too.

P.P.S. This post was in honor of the news that Pitt and Damon will be re-teaming to lend their voices to Happy Feet 2.

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Spike Lee Returns to New Orleans

by Jette Kernion Jan 17th 2010 // 3:02PM

Filed under: Documentary, Newsstand, HBO Films

Spike LeeOne of the best-known documentaries about the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures in New Orleans is from Spike Lee. His four-hour film When the Levees Broke aired on HBO in 2006 and won several Emmys as well as awards at the Venice Film Festival. Now, more than four years after Katrina, Lee is returning to The Big Easy to shoot a follow-up film for HBO. The filmmaker is scheduled to start shooting this week in New Orleans, but also plans to spend time along the Gulf Coast, an area some critics felt he neglected in his original film.

Interestingly enough, Lee's 40 Acres and a Mule production company is not the only one shooting Katrina-related material for HBO in New Orleans right now. David Simon, who produced the TV show The Wire, is finishing 10 episodes of a New Orleans-set show called Treme, focusing on characters who are musicians. The show is set to premiere on April 11. No date or title has yet been announced for Lee's documentary.

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Scenes We Love: Bob Schneider in 'Harmony and Me'

by Jette Kernion Jan 17th 2010 // 1:02PM

Filed under: Comedy, Music & Musicals, Fandom

Harmony and Me

The latest film from Bob Byington, Harmony and Me, had a five-night run in Austin this week after a very successful tour of film festivals. You may remember Bob Byington won the Stanley Kubrick Award for Bold and Innovative Filmmaking at Traverse City Film Festival last year, where Harmony and Me and his previous film, RSO [Registered Sex Offender] played. Harmony and Me is a very funny movie about a guy (Justin Rice) who is mourning his recent breakup with the fervor of a drama queen, while at the same time learning to integrate music more into his life. The cast also includes Kevin Corrigan, Alex Karpovsky and Nick Offerman.

One of Harmony's piano lessons occurs during his older brother's wedding reception, when the wedding singer teaches him to play one of his songs. The wedding singer is played by Austin musician Bob Schneider, and the song he teaches Harmony is the lovely "Changing Your Mind." The scene shifts from the wedding singer and Harmony playing the song to Schneider singing the song for the new bride. And that's where the humor comes in. The video below is only part of the scene, but you get the picture.

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Fan Made: Now There Are 'Twilight' Character Embryos

by Jette Kernion Jan 14th 2010 // 11:15AM

Filed under: Horror, Romance, Fandom

Twilight embryosIt's been nearly a year since Cinematical editor Erik Davis showed us what he considered the creepiest Fan Made item ever: a reproduction of Twilight character Bella's womb complete with a small fetus. However, today I have another contender for Creepiest Fan Made, along the same lines -- and these are items for sale: Twilight characters portrayed as embryos.

The photo on the right is a Jacob Black embryo, as he appears in New Moon, available from the "Feti" shop on Etsy. You can also buy fresh-from-the-womb renditions of Bella, Edward and Alice. I admit I don't see the charm; it's not that I'm not a Twilight fan (although I'm not), but I have no interest in hanging wee fabric embryos around my house. The Sarah Palin embryo might make an interesting gift to the right person, though. They're the right size to hang on your cell phone, and I suppose they'd make a helluva conversation starter.

Etsy has become a one-stop shop for all your bizarre Twilight shopping needs, with thousands of products for sale. You can find many renditions of Bella's moonstone jewelry, which are actually quite pretty. But how about a charm bracelet themed around Emmett Cullen? A pendant based on Jacob Black's wolf-pack tattoo? Bella's mittens, "Team Jacob" party decorations, a t-shirt with your photo as "Mrs. Cullen" along with Edward, and character-inspired moisturizing lotions -- these are only a few of the odd Twilight items I found. My favorite is a pendant of Robert Pattinson wearing fake plastic vampire teeth -- at least that one has a sense of humor. Have I missed anything else truly strange? Let me know in the comments, and check out some of the embryos below.

Gallery: Twilight Character Embryos

Bella

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