It's a splendid week for indie lovers with a taste for classic cinema -- which is everybody, right? -- with a flock of great Westerns and two Louis Malle films from Criterion among the highlights. More recent fare is more scarce.
Even though reviews were mixed to negative (our own Jeffrey M. Anderson was definitely mixed), Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth (Sony Classics) is almost required viewing. (Erik Davis posted a clip from the DVD just last week; check the official site for more.) The DVD includes an audio commentary by Coppola, a "making of" feature and two others on the music and make-up.
Tricia Regan's doc Autism: The Musical (Docurama) follows five autistic children as they write and produce a musical. Brendan Butler at Cinema Blend called it "heart-wrenching and heart-warming ... The dialogue the film opens with is as vivid and fierce as any hot-button topic in our country today." (Read more about the film at the official site.) The DVD includes deleted scenes and a "companion guide."
Leelee Sobieski stars as a would-be dominatrix in Walk All Over Me (The Weinstein Co.), which debuted at Toronto last fall; Eye Weekly said it was a "somewhat messy but energetic comic thriller." (Check the movie's site for more information.) The DVD includes a commentary by Sobieski, co-star Tricia Helfer and director Robert Cuffley, behind the scenes footage, a deleted scene, outtakes, a music video and still gallery.
Hollywood and Broadway have always been kissin' cousins, but their relationship used to flow in a different direction. In the old days, Broadway shows would get turned into movies, and Broadway actors would become film stars. Now it's the other way around: Eleven of the 37 shows currently on Broadway are based on movies, and there are enough movie stars performing on the Great White Way to fill an Oscar ceremony.
And the occasional flop aside (Big? Seriously?), audiences are eating them up. I needn't repeat for you the phenomenal success of Broadway's The Lion King, Hairspray, and The Producers, the last two of which were so popular that they inspired new film versions. Broadway has often been accused of being too populist and middlebrow, and I guess you need look no further than the success of movie-based musicals for evidence of that. The purists scoff -- but The Producers, which is as broad and "low" a comedy as you can imagine, also earned a record number of Tony nominations and wins. So those scoffing purists are outnumbered, and I suspect a lot of them are secretly as entertained by the shows as everyone else is.
Since I posted back in March that we're getting a web short from Joss Whedon, one that stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathon Fillion, and Felicia Day no less, I've been trying to keep an eye on news about Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog. There have been little blips like this over at EW, where NPH mentions that there are plans for a DVD with extras, but the pressing piece of info everyone wants to know is: When in the hell will we get to see it!?
Whedonesque linked to a new interview with Day yesterday, and if she's right, we shouldn't have to wait very much longer. While talking with Patrick Rothfuss, she said: "I believe he said it will be released on the internet before Comicon." Bring. It. On! Oh, it better be on a site that doesn't block Canada, or I'm going to go on a rampage.
If you need a refresher: The short series was created by Joss during that whole writers strike, and it follows a wannabe villain, Dr. Horrible (Harris), who has fallen for a cute girl at the laundromat (Day), but keeps getting beaten up by superhero Captain Hammer (Fillion).
This should be an awesome taste of Whedon before Dollhouse hits the boob tube. (Unfortunately, Joss' new show isn't planning to hit TV until mid-season.)
Well, it was a surprise. MTV caught up with Jason Segel to pry more Muppet movie tidbits from him, and it seems he was happy to oblige. He revealed he's written a cameo for a veteran of The Great Muppet Caper.
"I have a cameo for Charles Grodin in it. It's a really brilliant cameo, I must say. I'm really proud of it." Maybe we will find out if he ever tried Hare Krishna.
As to who else might be making an appearance -- well, just about everyone. "At one point they need all the Muppets they can get." And no, it won't be full of raunchy adult humor found in Segel's Forgetting Sarah Marshall. No Muppets will get high or drop trou. "When I get into Muppet mode I turn into a 12-year-old boy," he protested. "I think them seeing me in those meetings, they had no doubt I would be OK with the tone."
If you still doubt Segel, you really need to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall and witness the glory that is the Dracula musical. It sealed the deal for me. (Has anyone else noticed the TV spots always show him singing the Muppet theme song? Such a savvy marketing team.) I vote for Steve Martin to reprise his role as the cheap champagne hawking waiter. I don't know why, but the expression on his face when they request straws still gets me. Or Michael Caine, because I think he deserves a special Oscar for turning in such a perfect Scrooge alongside rats and frogs. In case Segel is reading, offer up requests of your own.
This scene, and every other bit of Requiem for a Dream that included this music, just floors me every time I hear it, and I'm not the only one. I'm not a big fan of making absolute statements about movies, but I've never heard anything even half as powerful as what the Kronos Quartet recorded for this film. It is, quite simply, the best.
Since Requiem, I've tried to keep an eye on what they're up to, and since a new concert review just popped up over at Variety, I thought I'd share the info with you folks. Kronos is currently on a "Nunavut" tour, which has them teaming their music with an Inuit throat singer, Tanya Tagaq. But it's not only interesting and experimental sounds. The review says that Tagaq's collaboration with each Kronos member during her piece was "like a musical gangbang." It sounds super-cool and now I'm itching to see it. If you want to learn more about the collaboration, head after the jump for a video that reveals how it came to be. And if you were fortunate enough to see the show already -- comment below and tell us about it!
With Ang Lee behind the camera, there are many possibilities for the upcoming adaptation of Elliot Tiber's memoir, Taking Woodstock, which Eugene blogged about recently. One of them is impending comedy. Variety reports that comedian Demetri Martin is currently in negotiations to star in the film as Tiber. The piece focuses on Tiber's life as a closeted gay artist who has given up his ambitions in the city to move upstate and help his old-world Jewish family run their Catskills motel. He becomes head of the Chamber of Commerce, and when he gets wind of the upcoming Woodstock, he does his part to make it happen.
The memoir details planning for the epic concert, as well as "side chapters" on Tiber, which include meeting artists like Robert Mapplethorpe and Mark Rothko, and getting through his closeted life to stand up to cops during a raid at a gay bar. It sounds like pretty meaty, yet potentially fun, material to me, and I'm curious to see why Martin was tapped for this part. He's got his Jon Stewart gig and some smaller acting bits under his belt, but this is a whole different sort of role. I'm also curious to see how this story all fits together without seeming too scattered. At the very least, it should have one very sweet soundtrack.
James Schamus is currently adapting the memoir, and Focus is looking to get it into production in late August.
Cinematical was just sent this brand new poster for High School Musical 3: Senior Year! This one hits the big screen on October 24th, and it marks the return of all your favorite High School Musical-ers like Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens. From the official synopsis: "High School Musical 3: Senior Year finds high school seniors Troy (Efron) and Gabriella (Hudgens) facing the prospect of separation as they head off to different colleges. Joined by the rest of the Wildcats, they stage an elaborate spring musical reflecting their experiences, hopes and fears about the future. With incredible new music and exciting dance numbers designed to take maximum advantage of the big screen, this motion picture extravaganza delivers plenty of high-energy entertainment from East High's talented ensemble."
I don't think we need to tell you that this one is gonna be HUGE ... with a capital "We Love You Zac!" High School Musical 3: Senior Year touches down right on our hearts this October 24th.
So Nicole Kidman might have already proven she can sing (a little), but is she really good enough to tackle the White Queen of Soul? Michael Cunningham, writer of The Hours and A Home at the End of the World, told NY Magazine that Kidman will star as singing legend Dusty Springfield in a music biopic that he is currently writing the screenplay for.
Springfield began her career at the tender age of 11, and by 1963 she had recorded her first major hit, I Only Want to Be With You. By 1967, the star had tired of show business and proceeded to record a string of flops from 1971 to 1986. Her comeback came in 1987 when The Pet Shop Boys asked her to sing on their hit What Have I Done to Deserve This? Springfield passed away from breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 60.
I will say it's about time that some more female vocalists got the biopic treatment (because Lady Sings the Blues and Coal Miner's Daughter are just not cutting it). Springfield had a tumultuous life full of addictions to drugs and alcohol, not to mention the pervasive stories of her struggles with her sexuality -- plenty of fodder for a juicy biopic. Considering working with Cunningham earned the actress her first Oscar, this project seems like a slam dunk for Kidman. Lord knows, she could use a hit.
After her karaoke stint in Lost in Translation, it was surprising to hear that Scarlett Johansson was going to put out her own CD, "Anywhere I Lay My Head." Now it's heading for shelves on May 20, and the first video has been released on Yahoo, which you can check out above. Many of you are not all that thrilled with Johansson's acting, but what do you think of her singing?
It sounds like they toned down her voice and put a lot of effects on it to try to make her sound like Sinead O'Connor. I don't think it helps much. I have a lot of varied musical tastes, digging everything from John Frusciante's more avant-garde work, to the twang of Victoria Williams, to the melody of Lamb, but "Falling Down" just sounds bad. And it looks like I'm not the only one who thinks so. Variety has the clip up and included a poll that has, so far, 75% of the readers saying she should stick with acting.
What do you think? Do you like it? Is this another professional swing and a miss? No matter what complaints pop up about her acting, she's still moving full steam ahead, so will this be popular either way?
Given how well the classic song "Where Is My Mind?" worked at the end of Fight Club (1999) and given his "loudQUIETloud" (see Karina's review of the 2006 documentary) method of crafting songs, Black Francis (a.k.a. "Frank Black," a.k.a. Charles Thompson) would seem the perfect candidate to compose a fantastic new score for a classic silent film. And so an eager, sold-out crowd of fans lined up at the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival for a Friday night screening of Paul Wegener and Carl Boese's silent-era, German Expressionist horror film The Golem (1920), hoping for just that. Francis -- deliberately billed with his Pixies-era stage name -- set up underneath the screen at the Castro Theater with his seven-man band (strings, horns, keyboards, etc.) and started the proceedings with a blast of guitar (the "loud" portion of the evening).
Surprisingly, Francis' raspy, yowling vocals also emitted from the darkness; he has composed an album of songs to go with the film, rather than a traditional score. The trouble is that they don't always seem to go. The effect is rather like synching Pink Floyd to The Wizard of Oz. Sometimes some magical cohesion happens between image and music, but most times the two forms are battling for your attention. The most distracting thing of all was a snarky commentator/narrator whose job was to make fun of the film between songs. ("There has to be a 12-step program for this!") At least once he spoke over the film's intertitles, and so viewers were forced to choose between trying to read or listen.
Can we safely say that Hollywood has officially run out of ideas? I like Jim Croce as much as the next person, but really -- Leroy Brown?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, producer Warren Zide has picked up the rights to the classic song in the hopes of turning it into an action-comedy franchise. That's right -- not just one film about Leroy Brown, but several. The project is currently out to writers.
The idea has been sanctioned by Croce's widow, Ingrid. "We've always wanted to do a movie with one of Jim's character songs. The concept is about a good guy who can do no wrong. We just want him and his memory and his music to live on. Most importantly, it sounds as if it's going to be a lot of fun. And Jim liked to have fun."
"I guess a classic song never fades away," Zide said. He was one of the producers for the American Pie and Final Destination movies, so if anyone knows how to franchise, it's him. His uncle tried to buy the rights 25 years ago, but failed, which led Zide to strike up a relationship with the Croce family. Well, the radio will never be the same again! Who knows what song might be picked up next? U2 or Bruce Springsteen seem ideal, but it's difficult to envision a sequel to The River. So I submit Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again for consideration, as I envision a noir franchise.
College professors rule! Well, at least the one that Richard Jenkins plays so well in Tom McCarthy's The Visitor (Overture Films). The comedy-drama expanded to 18 theaters in its second week of release and averaged $9,055 per-screen to remain in the #1 position, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo. Check the film's web site to see where it will be opening in the next couple of weeks (click on "in select theaters now").
Debuting indie films did not fare so well, judging strictly by per-screen averages, but it's notable that Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (Rocky Mountain Pictures), opened on more than 1,000 screens and made $2,997 per location for a total of more than $3 million for the weekend. The doc follows Ben Stein as he chases down Ferris Bueller ... oops, wrong movie! This one's about "intelligent design" in the classroom.
Opening on just one screen, Anamorph (IFC Films) grossed $3,000. Willem Dafoe stars as an NYPD detective investigating a serial killer. Critics were not kind: Anamorph scored just 28% positive at Rotten Tomatoes. David Hudson at GreenCine Daily rounds up pertinent quotes.
Two other holdovers did better as they expanded their runs. Young At Heart (Fox Searchlight), the "elderly folk chorus that sings modern rock songs" documentary, increased its theater count to 33 and averaged $4,393 per screen. Hou Hsiao-Hsien's gentle drama The Flight of the Red Balloon (IFC Films) proved its appeal beyond New York City, making $3,572 per-screen at 11 locations.
Young @ Heart begins with a vast crowd on their feet, cheering a performance we haven't seen. The crowd is exultant, young, excited; the performers are a group of senior citizens called the Young at Heart Chorus. Their repertoire is varied; their average age is 80. Over the past several years they've toured internationally, acclaimed for their renditions of modern pop and rock songs, all under the guidance of their musical director Bob Cillman.
Directed by Stephen Walker, Young @ Heart follows the chorus through the rehearsals and gigs leading up to the chorus's new big show -- which they have just seven weeks to prepare for. And at once, Young@Heart takes all the standard-issue concerns of the touring band documentary -- creative differences, struggles with the material, preparation and publicity -- and reframes them all in a very different context. The members of Young at Heart aren't looking to become stars or even make a living with their music -- so why exactly are they doing it? And, more bluntly, are the crowds that come out to their shows and tours -- as they cover material from The Clash and Coldplay and Outkast and more -- laughing with the chorus, or at them?
For those who haven't caught an advance screening of Forgetting Sarah Marshall yet, let me tell you that it's pretty damn funny. Of all the different, maniacal characters, though, it's British comedian Russell Brand who absolutely steals the show as Sarah Marshall's new, self-obsessed rocker boyfriend, Aldous Snow. Throughout the film, Snow performs a few different songs, but it's his music video for We've Got To Do Something that brought the house down at the SXSW screening back in March.
EW has posted the music video (and unfortunately, we cannot embed it here), but you should definitely run over there and check it out. In it, Snow prances around on a busy street and inside a terminal with signs that read, "Sodomize Intolerance" and "False Untruths Kill." Hilarious stuff -- I know all of us here at Cinematical are looking forward to seeing more of Brand on our shores in the near future. Forgetting Sarah Marshall hits theaters on April 18.
British rock journalist Nick Kent perfectly summed up pop music by nothing how the best rock combines the Byronic and the moronic. That uneasy mix of poetry and poses, swagger and stagger, makes rock and roll ripe for mockery -- and, with Walk Hardarriving on DVD this week, what better time to name a few great comedies that have mocked rock and punctured the pretensions of pop? 1) Walk Hard
Starring John C. Reilly as roots-rocker Dewey Cox, Walk Hard doesn't just stick a foot out to trip up Walk the Line; it also manages to spoof The Beatles, Brian Wilson, Elvis and much more. (Indeed, Walk Hard follows such a carefully-crafted timeline as it travels through pop music history, it almost feels like a second take on the brilliant, underseen Grace of My Heart, another film that spanned decades through musical styles.) With a brilliant supporting cast and Reilly's cement-headed self-centered performance in the lead role, Walk Hard is that rare parody that nonetheless still loves what it mocks.
Best Line: "Wait a minute, son: Dewey Cox has to think about his whole life before he performs. ..."
It's a splendid week for indie lovers with a taste for classic cinema -- which is everybody, right? -- with a flock of great Westerns and two Louis Malle films from Criterion among the highlights. More recent fare is more scarce. 
Hollywood and Broadway have always been kissin' cousins, but their relationship used to flow in a different direction. In the old days, Broadway shows would get turned into movies, and Broadway actors would become film stars. Now it's the other way around: Eleven of the 37 shows currently on Broadway are based on movies, and there are enough movie stars performing on the Great White Way to fill an Oscar ceremony.
Since I posted 
Well, it was a surprise. 
With Ang Lee behind the camera, there are many possibilities for the upcoming adaptation of 
So 
Can we safely say that Hollywood has officially run out of ideas? I like Jim Croce as much as the next person, but really -- Leroy Brown? 
College professors rule! Well, at least the one that 
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