garden state Tagged Articles at Cinematical

So we've all heard of the Hooker with a Heart of Gold, right? Well step aside Ms. Thang, because there's a new clichéd sheriff in town, and this time she's equal parts cute, cuddly and quirky. Before I get started, I just want to make sure you know I think Natalie Portman, Kirsten Dunst, and Penelope Cruz are wonderfully talented actresses. Unfortunately, I also happen to think these gals have perpetuated one of the most cloying and sickeningly adorable characters to ever grace the screen: The Manic Pixie Dream Girl (it's a mouthful, but bear with me...).

Maybe the easiest way to define an MPDG is to leave it to the originator of the term, Nathan Rabin, who first used it when reviewing Elizabethtown. According to Rabin, the MPG is "that bubbly, shallow, cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures." Or maybe an easier definition is pretty much any girl in a Cameron Crowe film ... or Natalie "My hair's blowin' in the wind" Portman in Garden State, who seems to be everyone's pick for the most annoying MPG in cinematic history.

So what makes this character different from other free-spirited, whimsical ladies like Susan Vance in Bringing up Baby or Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's? Well, there is a very small difference, and it's that the MPG has no function other than to support our sulky fellow as he makes sense of his suspended adolescence or commitment issues. The MPG in the end isn't even a fully realized character; she has no storyline or purpose other than to serve as a romantic vision for our mopey hero -- maybe it's a small distinction, but hey, the devil is in the details.

Cont'd...

Although the audio tape is pretty much dead, people still love making mix tapes, even if they now come in CD form. It's funny how this ritual of appreciation has transcended age and time. We used to scour radio stations for the perfect mix of songs, and now we whip up aural delights from thousands of mp3s. Mixes were useful to tell that certain boy or girl that you liked them in school, and today we often send mixes to say hello, or to gently shake a person and show them all the good music that they are missing.

There's also no short supply of movies that have absolutely fantastic soundtracks that work like a visual mix tape, sending the viewer through an optical pathway of music, sometimes even bringing new meaning and depth to the tunes that are played. While I would love to gush about Beethoven's music set to drama in Immortal Beloved, or even the brilliance that is Simon and Garfunkle in The Graduate, this space is reserved for the films with varied soundtracks full of a myriad of sounds and artists, which somehow all morph together into a cohesive and enjoyable whole. Sometimes they are just great collections of music, and sometimes they completely make you rethink something you might have heard many times before. If only I could list 14, or even 21! But I can't, so here are 7 films to inspire you into a mix-making frenzy:

High Fidelity

This almost seems like cheating, being such an obvious and no-brainer sort of choice, but you really can't talk about the power of mix tapes and movies without talking about the film that is all about creating musical mixes that portray slices of life. John Cusack stars as Rob Gordon, the music store owner who is at a crossroads in his life -- his serious girlfriend is leaving him, and through music, he delves into his less-than-desirable relationships with women. The beauty of this movie's soundtrack is how many different slices of music it tastes -- from the melodic Dry the Rain from The Beta Band to Aretha Franklin's Rock Steady. The old is mixed with the new, introducing us to what we might not have heard, while reminding us of songs we might have forgotten.

Fans of Garden State will be happy to know that Zach Braff has finally stepped behind the camera once again, except it's not for his follow-up feature film. Nope, according to Vulture, Braff is directing a Dunkin' Donuts commercial starring none other than the ultra volatile "please don't hit me with anything" supermodel Naomi Campbell. I cannot think of a stranger scenario -- here we have the super quirky Braff helming a commercial for a store known for their greasy donuts ... and it stars a supermodel! Has Campbell ever eaten a donut in her life (using them as weapons to attack random assistants does not count)? Braff, on the other hand, is apparently a big fan of the chain. While out doing press for The Last Kiss, he was asked what he liked most about Boston. His answer? "I have never seen a city that has more Dunkin' Donuts on every corner. I love Dunkin' Donuts, and I'm not doing an advertisement, but there's nothing like a nice donut." So there you have it -- the dude digs donuts.

While reps for Braff, Campbell and Dunkin' Donuts wouldn't confirm this to be true, filming reportedly took place yesterday back on Braff's home turf in Orange, New Jersey. And after doing some more digging, I uncovered the plot (if you want to call it that) of said commercial. Holy Moly tells us that Campbell is filmed "gardening while wearing an evening gown," (makes sense, right) and when a neighbor annoys her, she throws her shoe through their window. (Get it? Because Campbell throws things and needs money to pay off those who are suing her -- hence, embarrassing herself with this crummy commercial?) What does this all have to do with Dunkin' Donuts? Well, there's another woman who watches the whole thing and "keeps cool" by drinking some sort of iced coffee. Don't you see her? She's wayyy in the back corner. No, behind the production assistant. In the blue jeans. Yes, the one holding a sign that reads "Garden State Was Overrated!"

No word yet on the status of Braff's film Open Hearts (a remake of Susanne Bier's 2002 Danish film), but perhaps the guy signed on to this gig in order to get used to directing again. That would be the most logical excuse. Then again, maybe it's the only job he can find. Time to make the donuts another film, Zach -- whaddya think?

[via Hollywood Wiretap]

Since "tis the season" for making movie deals, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Rick Moody's novel Purple America has been purchased by Pedro Almodóvar's El Deseo for a big screen treatment. Already slated to direct the film is Jorge Torregrossa, who has made a name for himself in Spain as a director or award-winning commercials. Moody's novel centers on a successful publicist who is called home to care for his mother, who is slowly deteriorating from a neurological disease and who asks her son to assist in her suicide. So not exactly the most upbeat sounding film, but if you are at all familiar with Moody's work then the somewhat "downer" subject matter won't exactly come as a surprise.

This will be the second film adaptation for Moody, the first being The Ice Storm back in 1997 -- just to confuse matters he was also the author of the novel Garden State about a group of disaffected teens struggling with adulthood, but it bears no relation to the Zach Braff movie of the same name about a group of disaffected twenty-somethings struggling with adulthood, but its a wacky coincidence none the less. Future Films and Arcadia Capital are currently putting together the financing for the film, but it is still very early days for the project so it will probably be a long time before we get word of a cast.

Zach Braff's next film Open Hearts may be currently on hold, but he plans to shoot in New Jersey again once everything comes together. On a conference call yesterday, he told Cinematical that he remains involved in New Jersey, where he currently serves on the board of the South Orange Performing Arts Center.

He plans to lens Open Hearts in Northern New Jersey, and enjoys working in the area where he can utilize actors and crews from New York. Braff was born and raised in Jersey, and filmed his directorial debut Garden State there three years ago.

While I wouldn't say Braff's filmmaking sensibilities are diametrically opposed to Kevin Smith's, they do target similar young audiences, but when you watch Garden State you'll come away with a much different view of Jersey than you get from Smith's films. At least no one was getting it on with a donkey in the version I saw.

It's great when a director can work outside of the Hollywood environment and manage to capture the essence of where they come from. Richard Linklater did a great job of it with Slacker, and Braff seems to have done equally as well with Garden State. Although it's hard for me to know for sure since I spent several years in college living in Austin, and have never been to New Jersey, but it feels more real than the Jersey you get from The Sopranos or Clerks II.

If you try your hand at writing, you'll hear the phrase, "write what you know" many times. Whoever coined this phrase probably had no idea how much it applied to directing as well.

Folks, prepare to be bummed out: Zach Braff, Emmy-nominated star of the hit NBC series Scrubs and writer/director/star of Garden State (2004) has placed his latest directorial effort on hold. Open Hearts, based on a Danish film called Elsker dig for evigt was to begin production this summer but, as Braff told Moviehole.net, he will be postponing production. "I was going to do it this summer, but since I couldn't get my top people I'm waiting until next summer." According to IMDB, the original film concerns the travails of an engaged couple after the man is paralyzed in an automobile accident and the woman falls for the husband of the driver that caused the accident. How Braff's take on the story will vary from the original remains to be seen.

While Garden State fans like myself may be disheartened to learn that Braff's next film will take that much longer to hit the screen, the fact that Braff is willing to wait for the right cast would seem to indicate an auteur striving to remain faithful to his vision. Braff's fans should also bear in mind that Open Hearts will not be the light-hearted romp Garden State was. "The next thing I will do will be completely different," he told Moviehole. "It's a really dark drama about a car accident and the way the accident affects all the people involved in it."

As to whether or not this may help firm up Braff's rumored involvement in a new Fletch film (as previously reported here on Cinematical) is anyone's guess. Braff's current film The Last Kiss -- in which he stars but does not direct -- opens in theaters on September 15.

According to Advertising Age Magazine, we will soon be subjected to a Burger King movie. I know what you're thinking. When I read this article, I thought I'd woken up in the wrong universe this morning. But it is apparently true. The fast food company is working with the advertisement firm Crispin Porter & Bogusky on the project, which has a partially written script but no director, cast or studio. No plot was given either, but the firm says it will take place in an apartment above a Burger King and will be a cross between Napoleon Dynamite, Garden State, Raising Victor Vargas and What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, intentionally avoiding the kind of dumb comedy featured in another fast-food-advertisement of a movie, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle. The budget will be under $10 million and the movie will not feature any name stars (as if any would do this).

The thing that worked for Harold & Kumar is that it was dumb, and people could enjoy it because it didn't take itself seriously. A somewhat serious movie marketed by Burger King seems way too ridiculous for anybody to accept. Perhaps the restaurant chain could do well to remember a little disaster called Mac and Me, which was a blatant advertisement for McDonalds that horribly ripped off E.T. and featured such serious subjects as a handicapped child and a broken home. It had the awful stench of old guys in suits who think they know what is necessary to make a hit but who actually have no clue. This Burger King thing stinks pretty similarly. These are the people who have been giving us one of the creepiest commercial campaigns ever to hit television (and no, the king mascot will not appear in the movie).

So, I say good luck to Burger King in blowing a hunk of money on something that will probably fail. Once in awhile I encourage stupid businessmen to learn the hard way. 

[via Hollywood Wiretap]

Are you one of those gigantic Garden State fans who watch the film several times a week and quote from it daily as if it were the bible? If so, then you'll definitely enjoy the news I'm about to bring you. According to the actor/director himself, Zach Braff may be diving into his sophomore effort this summer. Can you handle that?

Over on his blog, Braff explains that, in just a few months, he may not have anything better to do. "I'm in LA now finishing the 5th season of Scrubs. We wrap on April 15th and I'm trying to figure out what I'm gonna do this summer. I'm leaning towards directing a film. I've gotten the rights to a foreign film that I'm adapting. I can't get too specific because I'm still working on the deal. But if that comes through, I could very well be directing my second film this summer."

Oohh, like me, I bet you're dying to know what foreign film that is. IMDB lists Braff's next film as Andrew Henry's Meadow, which is based on the popular children's novel, but is nowhere close to being foreign. Is that project dead? What's going on here? Ever since Garden State hit the streets, Braff has built a substantial internet fan base through his blog, and so I'm wondering if those fans will be turned off a bit knowing his next film won't be an original piece of work? All you Braff-heads feel free to chime in now...and if you have any scoop on his next project, do drop us a line.