Film critic Jim Emerson is collecting great
Film critic Jim Emerson is collecting great opening shots from movies, including Star Wars, Primer, and Annie Hall. Do you have any favorites that Emerson hasn’t covered yet?
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kottke.org posts about movies
Remember those neat library pictures I pointed
Remember those neat library pictures I pointed to last week? Turns out that the Jedi archives in Star Wars Episode II were modeled after the Long Room Library at the Trinity College of Dublin. (thx, everyone who sent this in)
The lost art of film editing. “Why
The lost art of film editing. “Why has this chaotic, rat-tat-tat style of assembly, the kind usually associated with Michael Bay-brand megatonnage, been cropping up in such unlikely places?”
No snakes, no planes
I made it! I can’t believe I did, but I hung in there, bucked the odds, gave 110%, and totally did it. From the blog post that kicked this whole crazy thing off to the premiere of the film this past weekend, I didn’t mention Snakes on a Plane a single time on this site. Neither did I make any ________ on a ________ jokes, see the movie on opening weekend, nor comment on any other site about it.
How did I achieve such a high level of cultural snobbery? It wasn’t easy, friends. Not reading MetaFilter helped certainly, as did looking down on reality television and those who watch it. I practiced conversational calisthenics in the mirror every night before bed: “Was that in the New Yorker or The Economist? Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t read People.”
In commemoration of this achievement, I’ve made celebratory badges to place proudly on the site (in regular and without swearing variations):
Feel free to display this badge on your web site if you also successfully avoided Snakes on a Plane. (Copy the images to your own server, please.) To those that succumbed to the temptation, fear not…the official web site has plenty of posters, wallpapers, audio clips, videos, IM icons, and screensavers for you to download.
The NYC premiere of Blogumentary is August 30
The NYC premiere of Blogumentary is August 30 at the Pioneer Theatre in the East Village. More info and tickets here.
Rare rave for M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady
Rare rave for M. Night Shyamalan’s Lady in the Water, which was demolished by the critics.
Jesus Camp is a forthcoming documentary about
Jesus Camp is a forthcoming documentary about a camp in North Dakota “where kids as young as 6 years-old are taught to become dedicated Christian soldiers in God’s army”. David Byrne has a review: “One asks if religious visions are better off kept as a personal thing, or at least confined to a small group — otherwise the death and destruction sown by and in the name of religions more or less balances out their moral and personal virtues.”
Helvetica, The Movie! “The film is studded
Helvetica, The Movie! “The film is studded with the stars of typography: Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Michael Bierut, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Stefan Sagmeister, Jonathan Hoefler, Tobias Frere-Jones, Experimental Jetset.”
Top 50 movies (by gross) that were never
Top 50 movies (by gross) that were never in wide release in the US. Top 3: Rocky Horror, Boyz n the Hood, and Royal Tenenbaums.
The Biology of B-Movie Monsters, or why
The Biology of B-Movie Monsters, or why you just can’t scale living things up (a la King Kong) or down (like in Fantastic Voyage) without consequence. One key problem: with a theoretical 20 foot tall human, mass increases much faster than bone strength and at some point, his skeleton wouldn’t be able to support the weight.
Wes Anderson’s new film (after The Fantastic
Wes Anderson’s new film (after The Fantastic Mr. Fox) will be called The Darjeeling Limited. Anderson, Roman Coppola, and Jason Schwartzman are writing it, with Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Schwartzman to star.
Design Within Reach is screening The Eames
Design Within Reach is screening The Eames Film Festival, featuring the short films of Charles and Ray Eames, at cities across the US. Unfortunately for me, a small town called New York City doesn’t seem to be on the schedule. :(
A collection of posters and promotional art
A collection of posters and promotional art from the films of Stanley Kubrick. This Clockwork Orange poster is one of my favorites; I have a copy hanging in my apartment.
Richard Donner is re-editing Superman II for
Richard Donner is re-editing Superman II for a November 2006 DVD release. “Unlike many ‘special edition’ and ‘director’s cut’ movies released over the years, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut will essentially be a completely new film.” (thx, dj)
The top 50 movie endings of all time. “
The top 50 movie endings of all time. “We’re not talking about the last half hour. We mean the last minute of movie. You know, the ending.” Needless to say, spoilers. (via cyn-c)
A pair of preview clips from the
A pair of preview clips from the forthcoming Simpsons movie. (via waxy)
Update: The clips have been removed from YouTube by Fox’s request. (thx, bob & jon)
Jack Shafer waxes poetic about the NY
Jack Shafer waxes poetic about the NY Times TV listing’s film capsules. Their succinctness reminds me a bit of writing remaindered links posts.
I Like Killing Flies is a 2004 documentary
I Like Killing Flies is a 2004 documentary about Shopsin’s, a unique NYC eatery. Playing at NYC’s Cinema Village this coming weekend. See also Shopsin’s menu design and Calvin Trillin’s classic NYer piece.
New trailer for The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky’s
New trailer for The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky’s fountain of youth movie.
I could read interviews of Errol Morris
I could read interviews of Errol Morris all day long. “It became obvious that I was never going to be able to knock on the door of someone who’s committed some massive insurance fraud and stick a camera in their face and get them to talk. It’s never going to happen. The best you can expect is getting the shit kicked out of you.”
Disney panicked when they saw Johnny Depp’s
Disney panicked when they saw Johnny Depp’s approach to playing Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, even though it eventually made the film a huge success. “‘Look, you hired me to do the gig. If you can’t trust me, you can fire me. But I can’t change it.’ It was a hard thing to say, but fuck it.” Didn’t work so well for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory though… (via mike)
Coming soon to a theater near you: trailers for books.
Coming soon to a theater near you: trailers for books.
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