1. A shout-out to our friends at Benten Films whose latest release, Kentucker Audley's Team Picture, streeted yesterday. Click the link above for more information on the DVD. Click here for an interview with Audley at GreenCine, conducted by our own Vadim Rizov.
["AUDLEY (from GreenCine interview): I definitely don't feel anything very smooth about doing things as far as people in Memphis understand how films go down. People don't take this shit seriously because it's done so casually. Coming from the perspective of Hollywood films or student films which are taught in school, it doesn't feel real if you're not taking five hours to get a shot, it doesn't feel like it's hard work enough. I think film students are Hollywood-type people - you know, they worked 14 hours to set up a shot. And that's fine. I'm just sort of turned-off about how some people can become so self-righteous about that approach. I don't think nothing happens in Team Picture, and I think the humor probably helps people who aren't really on board. I don't think people get it for the most part as far as the general spirit. I absolutely expect that, and I don't expect people to go crazy over the movie, but I guess the idea is that it's not trying to convince you of how smart or witty it is. I think once people see it has some attention outside of Memphis, they start to understand that maybe there's something to it."]
2. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Do Kill": A Newsweek report on the plight of gays in Iraq.
["Sometimes the act of reporting a story is revealing in itself--especially when it proves particularly difficult. This was the case when NEWSWEEK began looking into the problems of Iraq's homosexuals after hearing reports of secret safe houses around Baghdad where many of them were taking refuge from the militias' self-appointed morality police. After weeks of inquiries, NEWSWEEK managed to find Nadir and persuade him to arrange a visit to one of the safe houses he helps run. Instead, the Mahdi militia rousted him the night before. Established in 2004, the militia is the armed wing of the organization led by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has been an implacable foe of the Maliki government. Terrified, Nadir contacted people at the London-based gay NGO that finances the safe house, and they instructed him to break off the visit."]
3. "Good Bye Godard: We Just Don't Care": At The Moviezzz Blog, Jim Magovern ponders the preponderance of critical ignorance.
["There was recently a link on a highly trafficked movie site to another site’s list of the top foreign films of all time. Nothing about the list was anything new, basic Film 101 titles like RULES OF THE GAME, BREATHLESS and 8 ½. What was of note about the story was that the writer who linked to it openly stated that he had never seen any of the films on the list. While I had to applaud the writer’s honesty, like many in the comments section I was a bit appalled by his lack of film education. This is a fairly well known blog, with a lot of traffic, not to mention paid advertisers, and for them to openly claim ignorance of not having seen such major films? It was rather depressing. Granted, it is a site that is more interested in the color of Batman’s codpiece than the films of Claude Chabrol, but it still was surprising. If someone is going to write about film, shouldn’t they make an effort to educate themselves about what they are writing about before they start writing?"]
4. "Dr. Dre’s 20-year-old son found dead in L.A.": From MSNBC.
["Dr. Dre’s 20-year-old son has died, the rapper’s publicist said Tuesday. “Dr. Dre is mourning the loss of his son Andre Young Jr.,” publicist Lori Earl said in a statement. Young Jr., who was named after his father, was found dead Saturday by his mother at their home in suburban Woodland Hills, county coroner’s Lt. John Kades said."]
5. "Saint Joe: “Showgirls” Writer Finds Jesus": Eszterhas meets Christ. From The Screengrab. The Toledo Blade article mentioned is here.
["In a twist that’s just about as predictable as anything out of his screenplays, former master of glossy cinematic sleaze Joe Eszterhas has undergone a spiritual conversion. You remember Joe from the rollicking ’90s, when he penned such odes to depravity as Basic Instinct, Sliver, Jade and of course, the legendary Showgirls. But time marched on without ol’ Joe, who saw his anomalous coming-of-age tale Telling Lies in America and his off-target Hollywood satire An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn turn into limp box office flops. His oft-threatened magnum opus Sacred Cows, a political fable about a presidential hopeful getting caught fucking a cow, somehow failed to materialize. Eszterhas has his own sacred cows now, as he reveals in his new book Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith. As he tells the Toledo Blade, it all started in the summer of 2001 when “Mr. Eszterhas was diagnosed with throat cancer. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic removed 80 percent of his larynx, put a tracheotomy tube in his throat, and told him he must quit drinking and smoking immediately. At age 56, after a lifetime of wild living, Mr. Eszterhas knew it would be a struggle to change his ways.”"]
Quote of the Day: Samuel Johnson
Image of the Day (click to enlarge): Three of several T-Shirt designs from CineFile Video (the auteur line, I suppose). (Hattip: Ryland Walker Knight)
Clip of the Day: In honor of the Bolton/Sheridan split: "Said I Loved You... But I Lied."
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"Links for the Day": Each morning, the House editors post a series of weblinks that we think will spark discussion. Comments encouraged. Suggestions for links are also welcome. Please send to keithuhlich@gmail.com.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Links for the Day (August 27th, 2008)
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3 comments:
Re #5: So, basically, Eszterhas swapped out one drug for another and is already employing some of the hypocritical logic that is the side effect of his new drug of choice.
Man, am I the only one on here who does not think that religion -- no Christianity -- must be the opioid of the masses?
Yes, Eszterhas's embrace of the church is contradictory and troubled and some of his logic as stated in that article is not exactly logical. But he's "employing some of the hypocritical logic" of the church? How?
Why is almost any mention of Christian faith open season on here for ridicule at best and absolute demonization at worst?
Nomi, admittedly my issues are with religion, not just Christianity, out of all fairness.
To be honest, I read what Eszterhas is doing and am reminded of people I know who went through similar transformations only to have it backfire on them because religion was used as a crutch (as it seems in this case, in my opinion) rather than any genuine spiritual enlightenment. Ultimately, it's Eszterhas' business what he wants to do with his life.
Also, I believe not giving money to a church due to pedophile priests while still attending service is not above being questioned as an act of hypocrisy.
If you were personally offended, I apologize. However, I still do not believe that makes any religion above criticism. And it often seems that criticism results in accusations of demonization rather than considering that it's raising genuine issues about hypocrisy in society.
If I still believed in any religion, I would welcome being challenged or made to think about its belief system.
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