Bad News & Bragging

People have been waiting around for a film adaptation of Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons' The Watchmen since the mid 80s. The film is now shot, edited and ready to roll. But it seems we might have to wait a little bit longer.

Just before Christmas a judge ruled that Fox had some legal claim on the property. Today Fox officially asked to stop the film's March release. Man I fucking hate Fox almost as much as they seem to hate fan boys.

First they make shitty movies like The Day The Earth Stood Still and Dragonball Evolution that condescend to one of the most educated and literate audiences out there. Now they top it off by blocking the release of geekdom's most anticipated film. And all of it is done for the all mighty dollar. They just want to see how much they can wring out of Warner Brothers. What a bunch of pig anuses.

In other news....I got one of these bad boys for Christmas -

I am absolutely in love with the images I'm getting out of it. I feel like a big boy now. For anyone who is interested you can check out my portfolio over at:

www.myspace.com/pinkcowphotography

Feel free to comment and if you have any photographing needs you think I might be able to fill just let me know.

My other prized acquisition?

God I love Stanley Kubrick. I just spent the past year watching each of his films one at a time and each one is breathtaking in its' own way. This book is absolutely a must own for anyone who loves film. It is filled with high resolution photos from all the films, behind the scenes shots, script pages, costume designs, etc. It even has a section on his un-filmed projects (Napoleon, Aryan Papers and A.I.).

Some time soon I hope to post something on here about Kubrickian structure (as pretentious as that sounds). I've also got lots of other ideas for this here blog percolating. 2009 should be fun.

Mahalo.

"Are the girls in Phoenix that bad?"

Though I've only seen her in one film I would be remiss if I did not mark the passing of film noir legend Ann Savage at the age of 87. Her performance in Edgar G. Ulmer's Detour has to be seen to believed. She really lives up to that last name of hers. She recently appeared in Guy Maddin's latest film My Winnipeg which I still desperately need to see.

Ms. Savage, you will be missed.

Centenial Stocking

Well here we are at blog #100 and Christmas is just a few days away. I'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who has ever taken a few minutes out of their day to read my ramblings (especially if you read the real loopy pinko stuff). Hopefully you found whatever you read to be at least a little bit enjoyable. I try very hard to make this blog the best that it can possibly be and it's so fulfilling to know that there are actually people out there who read it. I wish each and every one of you a very happy holiday (whatever that holiday might be) and hope that the new year brings you nothing but awesomeness.

I now leave you with my favorite holiday odd couple of all time. Take it away Bing...

Get Off My Lawn!

With award season in full swing, everyone is making predictions. Will Brad finally get one? How about Anne? A second one for Sean Penn? Lots of great actors gave attention getting performances this year. So who am I putting my money on? This guy -

Now I know that at first blush this prediction appears to stink with the same stench that gave Al Pacino a golden boy for Scent of a Woman over Denzel Washington in Malcolm X. I'll admit that when I first started hearing Clint's name bandied about I had similar thoughts. Oh they're just gonna give it to him because he's never won one for acting and this might be his last performance. It'll be like when Paul Newman won for The Color of Money. All of that changed last night when I saw Gran Torino.

In the hands of a lesser man this could have been sub-par Archie Bunker. With Eastwood it becomes a tour de force. Walter Kowalski is the role Clint was born to play. While "The Man With No Name" and Harry Callahan are great iconic manifestations of cool and badassery, this role really and truly bleeds.

The performance walks a delicate line and could have easily descended into self parody. Oh it's Dirty Harry Callahan starring in Grumpy Old Men. Fortunately Clint stopped making that kind of shit with Space Cowboys and Blood Work. In one scene he will make you laugh in shock at the horrible things coming out of his mouth, and in the next you are moved by the rage and sadness behind those legendary squinted eyes.

Since Mystic River he has been driving hard like a man on a mission. Twice in the last five years he has released two films within months of each other. Momentum like that has to be building towards something. I feel that something is this role. After this Clint never needs to act again. There is nothing left to prove. This is the cinematic equivalent of going down in a blaze of glory and it's so beautiful to watch.

Lowest Common Denominator

For the most part I hate contemporary film posters. Gone are the days of awesome stuff like this Saul Bass masterpiece: And what do we get instead? Shitty "big head" posters. Yeah you know what I'm talking about. All of them look EXACTLY like this:

Oh wow Julia Roberts is in this movie? I could have never found that out by reading the poster. Good thing her face was on their big as life. I only go see movies based on who is starring in them. I have to go drink some paint thinner now. Bye.

Anyhow...Occasionally a good poster will come along. Something with a very nice graphic sensibility. Something you might actually hang on your wall. Something like:
The image also makes for great DVD art. Or so you might think. According to the fine folks at Touchstone, this monstrosity will make you want to rent Miracle at St Anna:
What the fuck is wrong with this world? Were they trying to make use of shitty reject art they had laying around? Is DVD art really that important these days? I understand needing an image that appeals to the lowest common denominator so as to grab their attention while they are roaming the video store. But most people these days get their films either by bootleg, Netflix or cable.

Can't we just keep the nice pretty original art? Please?

California Über Alles!

Former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown has reversed his stance on Prop Hate. Back in November when the measure first passed, Brown declared that he would defend it against legal challenges. His new opinion...

"...upon further reflection and a deeper probing into all the aspects of our Constitution it became evident that the Article 1 provision guaranteeing basic liberty, which includes the right to marry, took precedence over the initiative. Based on my duty to defend the law and the entire Constitution, I concluded the court should protect the right to marry even in the face of the 52 percent vote."

Some people think Jerry is gonna run for Governor again in 2010. If so, THIS has absolutely put me in his corner.

JERRY BROWN 2010!

It's Beautiful

Sam Bottoms, who made his screen debut as the innocent Billy in Peter Bogdanovich's classic The Last Picture Show, died today. He was only 53. Bottoms also appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now as surfing superstar Lance B. Johnson . Though he has left this world, those two performances will remain forever. Rest in peace sir.