pt anderson Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It's funny, but I've been watching Kevin Smith movies for a long time now, but it was only as I was reading through Total Film's list of the Best & Worst: Kevin Smith, that I realized something that I never really thought all that much about before -- and what was my big epiphany? Well, I finally discovered that Smith's films in the end are just rom-coms with poop jokes. Smith may have been considered a foul-mouthed stoner for most of his career, but now that I've looked beyond his shtick, I've finally come to the conclusion that the guy is a big old softy. Which got me thinking: Is there such a thing as romance for boys?

Now if you're the observant type, you've probably noticed I'm not a dude, so what do I know, right? But I've been told time and again that I'm not the 'average girl' (whatever that means) when it comes to my movie tastes, so I'm going to put that theory to the test, and get in touch with my masculine side to create a list of romantic movies for men.

After the jump; My 5 picks for boy-friendly romance...

Every year at Telluride, they do three Tributes. In recent years, at least, they've tended to have one film person who's well-known in his or her own country, but not widely known and appreciated, one film person who is well-known pretty much everywhere, and one person who's made a significant contribution to film, even though you may not recognize their name. This year's tributes are Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal (first category), French composer Michel Legrand, and actor Daniel Day-Lewis, whose tribute was held tonight at the Sheridan Opera House.

Thankfully, I had a Patron Pass to get into it, because the venue only holds 250, and between the patrons and priority line (for the Sheridan, every pass has two numbers shaded in that correspond to the film's program numbers -- a shaded number means you get priority seating there for that particular show) the house was packed. I doubt very much that any passholders who weren't lucky enough to have the number "1" shaded on their passes made it into this event.

Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't do a lot of interviews, so the chance to see him in person and hear him speak was too good to resist. I lucked out and got a perfect seat on the floor, thanks to a fellow journalist who had an extra seat next to him that he very kindly offered to me. The evening kicked off (after an intro by fest co-director Gary Meyer -- who, like all the staff at this fest, is so nice and engaging, you just want to sit down and hang out with him over coffee) with a one-hour compilation of clips from Day-Lewis' impressive filmography, from his uncredited role as a child vandal in Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971) to The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), which his wife, Rebecca Miller, wrote and directed. The clips were nicely edited, showing Day-Lewis' range as an actor and the wide variety of roles he's chosen throughout his career.

More on the tribute, plus some pics, after the jump ...

To be honest, the summer crop of movies hasn't had me lining up at the box office like I thought it would. Instead, my attention has been firmly fixed on fall and winter. So you can imagine my glee when a promotional clip from the Paul Thomas Anderson film There Will Be Blood, courtesy of Al Rose Promotions fell into my lap. The movie is Anderson's return to directing since Punch Drunk Love way back in 2002 -- that is if you don't count his presence on the set of Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. Based on the Upton Sinclair book Oil!, Blood stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a misanthropic oil-man who makes his fortune alongside a charismatic preacher (Paul Dano) who's making a name for himself by winning over the townsfolk. The film has been described as "a story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century Texas prospector in the early days of the business" and none of Anderson's usual suspects like Philip Baker Hall, Luis Guzmán, or Philip Seymour Hoffman are known to be making an appearance. Instead, it looks like the cast has been chosen for a very specific period look.

The film was shot in New Mexico and Marfa, Texas back in 2006, and it's expected to make its world debut at the Venice Film Festival this August. Until now, there have only been a couple of photos released, and some positive news on the script, but this teaser gives us the first real glimpse at what to expect. I'm a big fan of Anderson so I could be a little biased, but from what I just saw, I'll be marking November 21st on my calendar, when There Will Be Blood hits theaters.

I'll admit that I am a jaded enough movie-goer that very few bits of news manage to make me giddy with anticipation, but the Paul Thomas Anderson fansite Cigarettes and Red Vines has made me giddy as a fanboy on the opening day of ComiCon. The site posted a "spoilerish " photo (it's only fair to warn you) from the set of his latest movie There Will Be Blood -- one of the first photos to emerge since the production was announced. The film is based on the Upton Sinclair book Oil!, and is the story of the early days of the oil business starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a prospector in rural Texas. Anderson wrote the screenplay for the film, and there is talk of release in October of this year, which would put it right in the wheelhouse for Oscar contention, if it's as good as we hope it will be.

Usually whenever Anderson's name is mentioned, it's in connection to the other directors who just don't produce the amount of films they should (other nominees include Wes Anderson, David Fincher, David O. Russell, and Spike Jonze.) Considering the amount of truly awful movies I see, I'm just grateful Anderson's making one at all. The few he has made so far are among my favorites, so I really can't complain. Throw Daniel Day-Lewis into the mix and it's like Christmas in July -- or I guess in this case, October.

There's bad casting and good casting, to be sure, and sometimes there's strange casting. But sometimes, out of left field, someone agrees to act in a movie with a certain director, and you just can't see the connection. Sometimes this works out, and other times it does not.

1. D.W. Griffith & W.C. Fields, Sally of the Sawdust (1925)
Yes, the great, curmudgeonly comic with the bulbous nose, the penchant for booze and a curdling disdain for children and animals found himself working with the famously Victorian silent-era film pioneer. Griffith's career was on the way down, and Fields' was on the way up, and they met in the middle for this actually rather delightful comedy-drama. Fields occupies the co-starring role (opposite Carol Dempster) as a carnival cardsharp.