How do you jump from one of New York's best-loved insightful film blogs to a L.A.-based weblog better known for bite than brain? What's it like to blog the Oscars for Vanity Fair? What will it take to have big-studio publicity recognize the online world? And what are some of the standout films and special selections at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival? Joining us this week live from one of L.A's most hallowed cultural institutions -- The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf -- to talk about all these topics and more is Stu VanAirsdale, Senior Editor at Defamer and the founder of The Reeler. Cinematical's podcast is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

Cinematical is often mentioned in a lot of places; on a lot of different sites, in movie advertisements, on DVD boxes and in trailers. But one place we've never been mentioned (I don't think) is Vanity Fair. Thus, we thought you'd be interested to know that VF has listed Cinematical in its Blogopticon, as one of "the most influential or amusing blogs about politics, gossip, Hollywood, media, and miscellany ..." It's pretty cool stuff, and we're joined by our fellow film fanatic friends over at Slashfilm and AICN. Yay!

When I sent this around to the team earlier, my favorite response came from Cinematical's James Rocchi, who said: "I've always wanted to have something I've been a part of mentioned in Vanity Fair; until this week, I thought it was going to be my planned string of cat burglaries in Monaco, or my probable death at the hands of the new Russian Oil Oligarchs. This is way better, and congratulations to all."

Indeed, sir. Congrats to all -- especially you, our readers, because we wouldn't be anywhere without your continued support, wisdom, humor, feedback and, of course, love.

In these supposedly progressive times, gender equality is one of those touchy issues relegated to the last paragraph of a trend piece nobody reads. When Katherine Heigl suggested to Vanity Fair that Judd Apatow's movies were sexist, the assertion came across like an after-the-fact shrug of acceptance. Ever the galvanizing provocateur, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis confronts the issue head-on with a thorough analysis of the gender bias in this year's summer blockbusters.

With "Iron Man, Batman, Big Angry Green Man" and other massive expressions of virility invading the box office, female roles appear to be relegated to the back of the multiplex. Dargis touches on the rumors that Warner Bros head Jeff Robinov believes no woman has been able to sell a movie since Julia Roberts (a point that Natalie Portman might contest, but not Paris Hilton) before sizing up numerous upcoming studio releases, with particular attention paid to Anna Faris, "who could be the next Judy Holliday but without the right material will, alas, probably end up the next Brittany Murphy." It's the kind of pronouncement that hits you in gut.

Pictured: Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. re-create a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief (click on the image for a larger version).

There's been lots of talk surrounding Vanity Fair's 2008 Hollywood Portfolio edition (March issue), which features several notable celebrities re-creating memorable scenes from Alfred Hitchcock films. VF loves to do stuff like this, but I have to say this one is my favorite so far. Among the celebs who took part are Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Jr. (seen above), Jodie Foster, Seth Rogen, Naomi Watts, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Marion Cotillard, James McAvoy, Emile Hirsch, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Charlize Theron and many more. You can scope out Johansson and Bardem re-creating a scene from Rear Window (one of my personal Hitchcock favs) below, then head after the jump to see more (and click on all photos for larger versions).

[via Oh No They Didn't, Slashfilm]

Roy Scheider is one of those actors that was really popular many years ago and who appeared in several important and successful films and then, for the most part, disappeared. Sure, he's been working here and there but after you've starred in some of the best and most interesting films of the 70s: The French Connection, Klute, Marathon Man and, of course, Jaws, you probably are not so quick to highlight your more recent appearances in such "classics" as Chain of Command, Dracula III: Legacy and Dark Honeymoon.

Even if his recent projects may not up to his former standards, according to Vanity Fair's James Wolcott, Scheider deserves recognition for his past triumphs as well as for his most recent TV role -- as a psycho killer matching wits with Vincent D'Onofrio's detective Goren on TVs Law and Order: Criminal Intent. In fact, Wolcott is so in love with Schneider and his latest role as a TV psycho he wants next Monday -- the day the episode airs -- to be declared a holiday commemorating Scheider and his body of work.

According to Wolcott, "Roy Scheider Day," as he wants it known, "is my way -- America's way -- of toasting an actor too seldom seen these days on big screen or small." I have to agree with Wolcott on this one -- Scheider is a good actor that deserves recognition. Not only was he in some great films over the years that I, an many others, enjoyed but he also had the brains not to make any more Jaws films after Jaws 2. For that, alone, he deserves our respect. Kudos to you Roy. What's your favorite Roy Scheider film?

Well the only other movie I can think of that was based on a Vanity Fair article was The Insider, and that was a fantastic film that managed to generate box office and Oscar buzz -- what more could you want? I would imagine that Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Jason Blum had similar ideas about adapting a high profile VF article,when they picked up their latest project for Paramount.

Variety reported that Blum and Di Bonaventura have bought the rights to David Wise's article The Shop for Paramount. Wise's article has yet to be published, but already a movie deal is on the table -- wow, they didn't waste any time did they? Wise, an investigative journalist, co-authored the infamous book about the CIA called The Invisible Government. Wise also is remembered for a column in the New York Times in 1981, that attacked Reagan for the pardon of Mark Felt (who's now probably better known as Woodward and Bernstein's Deep Throat).

Details about the project are being kept under lock and key, since the article hasn't even published. Plus, would you expect any less from a project about the intensely secret organization? Kelley Sane has already been hired to adapt the piece, but there is no word of a director yet, I can only assume it will be on a "need-to-know" basis. ...

[via Empire Online]

What would late feminist Betty Friedan think of the recent Vanity Fair cover with a naked artfully nude Scarlett Johannson and Keira Knightley sprawled out before a fully clothed Tom Ford? That's the question Anthony Kaufman ponders on his blog today, and it's a darn good one. Kaufman questions why, in this day and age, we aren't seeing a Vanity Fair cover with naked male models and a female power figure?

Amen to that, Anthony.  I'll take it one step further - why not a naked Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, "artfully nude"? Why is it always females in Hollywood who are portrayed as sexual objects for men (like the fully-clothed Tom Ford in the cover photo) to leer at? Johansson and Knightley are award-nominated actresses (Johansson for several Golden Globes, Knightley for an Oscar this year); shouldn't the focus be more on their talent on screen, and less on their nude bodies? Maybe they should have followed Rachel McAdam's lead and just said "no" to the nude cover.

Is it demeaning for Vanity Fair to put nude actresses on the cover without giving equal (un)coverage to top actors? I'm not talking about the quality or artsiness of the photo itself here, but the greater issue of inequity in the way women are viewed by Hollywood. What do you think?

[ via Indiewire ]