Monday, January 09, 2006
"How I Met Your Mother" Open Thread
A delightful cast -- led by the babe-hunter Neil Patrick Harris -- continue to battle so-so writing in this potentially good sitcom. Tonight Ted takes Robin to a wedding...or at least tries to. But since they're not fated to be together, isn't it annoying to keep treating them like the inevitable dream couple? I feel jerked around, not to mention as if the show is spinning its wheels. Discuss.
"Wildfire" Open Thread
Losing the big race is proving a smart career move for Kris (Genevieve Cortese). Now she's got an agent, a hot-sauce commercial and of course those beautiful horses to train and ride on. Then of course there are the numerous soap-starish young men vying for her affections. Parole is hot! Discuss. (And is anyone still watching "Surface?" Didn't think so.)
Mamma Mia! "Phantom" Sets Record
Tonight, "The Phantom of the Opera" becomes the longest-running show in Broadway history with performance number 7,468, supplanting Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats," of course, which supplanted "A Chorus Line" and so on. You can't even pretend another show will challenge such a record, but the only one currently running with the slightest prayer is probably "Mamma Mia!"
Two memories come to mind. First, taking my sister Leslie to "Phantom" for her birthday (which is on October 31st). We had great seats right under the chandelier and the darn thing took so long to fall you might have thought it was just gliding politely out of the way instead of hurtling towards an unsuspecting but well-heeled crowd.
Second, contributor biboy now focuses on highbrow opera, but he had a real weakness for this show in college, often playing "The Music of the Night" late at night. Sure, Michael Crawford had a lovely tone to his voice, but I wonder if biboy is proud, amused or ashamed of that memory.
Two memories come to mind. First, taking my sister Leslie to "Phantom" for her birthday (which is on October 31st). We had great seats right under the chandelier and the darn thing took so long to fall you might have thought it was just gliding politely out of the way instead of hurtling towards an unsuspecting but well-heeled crowd.
Second, contributor biboy now focuses on highbrow opera, but he had a real weakness for this show in college, often playing "The Music of the Night" late at night. Sure, Michael Crawford had a lovely tone to his voice, but I wonder if biboy is proud, amused or ashamed of that memory.
"The Slippery Slope" By Lemony Snicket -- A Popsurfing Review of *** (Three Stars)
Just finished Book Ten in An Unfortunate Series of Events, namely "The Slippery Slope." Quite a step up from the last few. The series had -- perhaps unavoidably -- fallen into a bit of a rut. Plucky, resourceful orphans go to new location or are assigned to new guardians, Count Olaf shows up in disguise, no one believes them at all, and they escape in the nick of time.
Now, with the end in sight (Snicket has promised or threatened to deliver 13 volumes) he throws formula to the wind. All bets are off and the freeing sense of events (however unfortunate) coming to a climax powers the tale considerably.
The books must be treasured by schoolteachers, celebrating reading, words and definitions with clever wit as they do. I've rarely been more jealous of another writer (what a devastatingly simple idea -- the story of kids to whom everything awful is sure to befall told by an author who begs you not to read their tales of woe). Happily, my envy can increase since Snicket seems to be gathering strength for the grand finale. 3 out of 4 stars.
Now, with the end in sight (Snicket has promised or threatened to deliver 13 volumes) he throws formula to the wind. All bets are off and the freeing sense of events (however unfortunate) coming to a climax powers the tale considerably.
The books must be treasured by schoolteachers, celebrating reading, words and definitions with clever wit as they do. I've rarely been more jealous of another writer (what a devastatingly simple idea -- the story of kids to whom everything awful is sure to befall told by an author who begs you not to read their tales of woe). Happily, my envy can increase since Snicket seems to be gathering strength for the grand finale. 3 out of 4 stars.
Lou Rawls To Be Buried Friday
Singer Lou Rawls will be buried Friday, with the Rev. Jesse Jackson presiding. The family asked that in lieu of flowers, people donate to the United Negro College Fund. No surprise there -- Rawls has been supporting that charity for decades and raised literally hundreds of millions of dollars. Jerry Lewis ain't the only game in town. In fact, I think it was last year that I stumbled across the annual benefit TV show some Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The aging Rawls -- looking dapper in a tux -- strode on stage to the familiar strains of his iconic hit "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" and...blew...me...away. His voice sounded amazing, thrilling, wonderful and the song of course is a stone cold classic.
I was ashamed to find I didn't own it somewhere in my voluminous CD collection. And I was annoyed after going to music stores and finding many shoddy compilations that didn't even include the one titanic hit you absolutely have to have. Finally settled on a Greatest Hits CD from Cema put out in '94. Only ten tracks, and obviously the mastering is dated but I could play that song over and over and over and never get sick of it. As one of his other hits put it, this song will last forever.
I was ashamed to find I didn't own it somewhere in my voluminous CD collection. And I was annoyed after going to music stores and finding many shoddy compilations that didn't even include the one titanic hit you absolutely have to have. Finally settled on a Greatest Hits CD from Cema put out in '94. Only ten tracks, and obviously the mastering is dated but I could play that song over and over and over and never get sick of it. As one of his other hits put it, this song will last forever.
Will "Crash" Win The Best Picture Oscar?
GoldDerby's Tom O'Neil says yes. And Monkeyboy says O'Neil -- as usual -- is dead wrong. Certainly, "Crash" could be a spoiler for "Brokeback Mountain." But so could "Good Night And Good Luck," "Capote," "Walk The Line" or even "King Kong."
But to make his case, Monkeyboy grunts in anger, O'Neil has to dig all the way back to 1973's "The Sting." "Crash" is a genuine word-of-mouth hit, but it's a "dark" little movie. "The Sting" was sheer delight, pairing two of Hollywood's biggest stars in one of its biggest hits of all time -- hardly a valid comparison. And the closest example comes from 30 years ago? Couldn't O'Neil find an example from the '30s to make his case?
Unlike Monkeyboy, I'll give "Crash" credence as a spoiler for one reason: I hated the movie and it would be the most annoying victor Oscar could find. The Academy has a gift for that sort of frustration. But the only thing Oscar likes more than being annoying is being obvious, so I hold tight to the belief that "Brokeback Mountain" wins Picture and Director.
But to make his case, Monkeyboy grunts in anger, O'Neil has to dig all the way back to 1973's "The Sting." "Crash" is a genuine word-of-mouth hit, but it's a "dark" little movie. "The Sting" was sheer delight, pairing two of Hollywood's biggest stars in one of its biggest hits of all time -- hardly a valid comparison. And the closest example comes from 30 years ago? Couldn't O'Neil find an example from the '30s to make his case?
Unlike Monkeyboy, I'll give "Crash" credence as a spoiler for one reason: I hated the movie and it would be the most annoying victor Oscar could find. The Academy has a gift for that sort of frustration. But the only thing Oscar likes more than being annoying is being obvious, so I hold tight to the belief that "Brokeback Mountain" wins Picture and Director.
"Roseanne's" Johnny Galecki Makes Big NYC Stage Debut
The New York Post makes a pointed reference to sitcom star Johnny Galecki's New York stage debut by talking up a nude scene where he apparently has nothing to be ashamed of. Okay. But what's really amusing is his story of trying to befriend male hustlers to research his role in Douglas Carter Beane's witty new comedy "The Little Dog Laughed."
Galecki' s hustler is a classic media creation: the mythical healthy and sober private school grad who just wants to make some extra cash. As Barbara Hoffman reports:
Galecki' s hustler is a classic media creation: the mythical healthy and sober private school grad who just wants to make some extra cash. As Barbara Hoffman reports:
"Most of the guys I talked to were young and emaciated and driven by their addictions," he says. "I didn't learn a whole lot from those guys — but they were great kids, and a couple of them and I got close. They had a going-away party for me before I left for New York." He laughs. "I had to pay for it, but it was a sweet gesture!"
Here's A Mystery: Why Did "Da Vinci Code" Take Three Years To Hit Paperback?
Anchor Books announced today they'd print up some 5 million paperback copies of Dan Brown's runaway bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" for its March 28 release. The movie version -- starring Tom Hanks -- comes out May 19. Frankly, if the movie wasn't coming out, they might never have released a paperback. The publishing industry is in a slump (though still a $20 billion business) and they wouldn't agree with me, but one big reason is paperbacks.
DVD sales exploded because they offered better quality at a lower price than VHS. But in the book world, they delay a paperback's release again and again and charge more and more for them. Instead of designing attractive "mass market" paperbacks at inexpensive prices, publishers push "trade paperbacks" that cost some $14-$16. Mass market editions (often about $6 or $7) come out years after a hardcover's release, if at all.
Publishers do everything they can to make those editions seem junky and unappealing, only suitable for airplane reads. It's even more frustrating for evergreen titles -- how frustrating is it to look up a 20 year old novel and find out it's only in trade and costs $17 dollars?
And they wonder why people aren't snapping up books. So are any of you latecomers going to (finally) read "Da Vinci" when it comes out in paperback?
DVD sales exploded because they offered better quality at a lower price than VHS. But in the book world, they delay a paperback's release again and again and charge more and more for them. Instead of designing attractive "mass market" paperbacks at inexpensive prices, publishers push "trade paperbacks" that cost some $14-$16. Mass market editions (often about $6 or $7) come out years after a hardcover's release, if at all.
Publishers do everything they can to make those editions seem junky and unappealing, only suitable for airplane reads. It's even more frustrating for evergreen titles -- how frustrating is it to look up a 20 year old novel and find out it's only in trade and costs $17 dollars?
And they wonder why people aren't snapping up books. So are any of you latecomers going to (finally) read "Da Vinci" when it comes out in paperback?
Best-selling Memoir Dissolves Into A Million Little Lies
James Frey -- the author of the acclaimed "A Million Little Pieces" -- admitted to The Smoking Gun that he embellished central elements of his purported criminal career for dramatic purposes. TSG discovered Frey doing much more than that, calling into question many of the book's melodramatic events and digging up police records that contradict a central event in his story. As TSG says, for a guy who so desperately wants to be seen as exposing every dirty little secret in his memoir, Frey sure clams up good. Does Oprah feel duped? (She turned it into one of the biggest hits of the year.) Do you?
"Desperate Housewives" Open Thread
By far the best episode of the season, no? The gals are together and working on a case. I also enjoyed when Andrew made out in front of his mom and she asked him what if the neighbors had seen. Andrew: Oh, I'd hope they'd think I landed a hottie. Discuss.
Say Hi To The New Aquaman -- Will Tole
The new Aquaman is actor Will Tole. (The photo comes courtesy of AquamanTV website.) He'll star as diving shop owner Arthur Curry ("AC" to his buds) in a new WB TV drama. Tole had a brief cameo in 2003's "Uptown Girls" (playing a briefs model), another tiny role in a TV movie called "Tempting Adam" and then appeared on Broadway in "A Streetcar Named Desire" as the newspaper collector (looking far too strapping for us to fear his corruption by Blanche, frankly). He also appeared on the soap "Guiding Light." The show will film in Florida and debut in the fall.
It's cruel news for actor Alan Ritchson. (Not to mention Vince Chase of "Entourage.") Ritchson first popped up on "American Idol" and then landed the plum role of Aquaman on an episode of "Smallville" earlier this season. That show exploded in the ratings and -- thanks to dissing of the superhero on HBO's Entourage -- the underwater icon was suddenly on everyone's lips. A spinoff was inevitable and surely Ritchson must have considered the role his for the taking. But despite the high ratings, Ritchson was exceptionally stiff. (Dialogue like "With me on the surf and you on the turf, we can defeat this guy!" didn't help.) But who would have thunk the WB would be smart enough to see that?
"Where The Wild Things Are" -- The Movie
The long-gestating movie "Where The Wild Things Are" has just been picked up by Warner Bros., with Spike Jonze to direct a script by Dave Eggers. Maurice Sendak -- who has a great deal of input -- is thrilled with the concept after years of putting the kibosh on other versions. He says if Spike doesn't do it, he'd rather no one do it. No word on exactly how they expect to transform the picture book into a two hour movie, but it's planned as live action with loads of special effects. (One of Spike's first movie projects was supposed to be "Harold and the Purple Crayon" -- a book that seems even more impossible to turn into a film.)
In general, turning a picture book into a feature film is a bad idea. They can work as 23 min TV specials (see those Dr. Seuss gems). But "The Polar Express" -- which was a box office hit and looks like an Imax perennial - caught the feel of the Van Allsburg gem but spoiled it all by being forced to pad out the story. Ditto all the live action Dr. Seuss travesties, like "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Cat in the Hat."
One hint of bad things to come: Warner Bros. sees "Wild Things" as a tentpole, which means sequels. So what say you? Should "Where The Wild Things Are" be a movie, a half hour tv special or just left alone?
Dominick Dunne: Bane Of Rich And Famous
Here's my fun New York Post interview with Dominick Dunne, a Capote-like chronicler of the rich and famous, especially when they've committed murder. The new season of his Court TV series "Power, Privilege & Justice" begins January 16 at 10 p.m. I spoke with Dunne for the NY Post and he spoke candidly about his lawsuit with Gary Condit, that fracas with his longtime home "Vanity Fair" (Dunne confesses he immediately got approached by other magazines when word about the feud spread) and his thoughts on Bob Costas: "I absolutely couldn't stand him. He was a little prick." Please, Dominick, tell us what you really think. When the show debuts, I'll include the complete transcript of our talk -- without the curse words edited out.
Has Nicolas Cage Taught Us Nothing?
Some fool sold off his valuable Elvis memorabilia because his girlfriend told him, "It's me or that white jumpsuit!" CNN reports the poor guy - named Jim Curtin -- had been collecting Elvis memorabilia since he was 8 years old. Buddy, don't you remember that fellow Elvis buff Nicolas Cage sold off all his beloved comic books when the King's own daughter Lisa Marie made the same ultimatum? And that they divorced just about a year and a half after getting hitched? (That's right, no girl and no Action Comics #1.)
If your woman can't accept that you've devoted most of your life to some passion and that maybe, just maybe, it's kind of important to you, than perhaps she's not the girl for you. Curtin is a civilian, so I'll give his marriage three years...followed by a lot of lonely nights for Curtin with only peanut butter and banana fried sandwiches for company.
My favorite Elvis song -- "(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear." Yours?
If your woman can't accept that you've devoted most of your life to some passion and that maybe, just maybe, it's kind of important to you, than perhaps she's not the girl for you. Curtin is a civilian, so I'll give his marriage three years...followed by a lot of lonely nights for Curtin with only peanut butter and banana fried sandwiches for company.
My favorite Elvis song -- "(Let Me Be) Your Teddy Bear." Yours?
Jamie Foxx Hits The Top Of The Pop Charts
His movie "Ray," took its own sweet time to build into a big hit. But actor Jamie Foxx isn't wasting any time when it comes to music. After just two weeks on the charts, Foxx hits Number One with his CD "Unpredictable." (He was kept out of Number One last week by Mary J. Blige.)
Here's betting Foxx has ANOTHER Top Ten hit album by the end of the year -- he's currently filming the musical "Dreamgirls," which has a terrific batch of songs that should send the sountrack into the Top Ten, especially with a cast that includes Foxx and Beyonce (not to mention Eddie Murphy, Mos Def, Heavy D, Danny Glover and "American Idol's" Jennifer Hudson -- who just edged out "American Idol's" Fantasia). Can't wait to see this movie, which is being helmed by "Kinsey" director Bill Condon. They already played a teaser trailer over the holidays, though I believe they used Jennifer Holiday's original version of the show's anthemic "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going" for the music.
And if that's not enough "American Idol" news for one day, you can also find recent winner Carrie Underwood at Number Five with her debut album, Kelly Clarkson at Number 12 with her four-times platinum hit "Breakaway," and Bo Bice at number 38.
The little band that could is Fall Out Boy, which has two singles in the Top 15 and their platinum album at Number 11, about to re-enter the Top Ten.
Here's betting Foxx has ANOTHER Top Ten hit album by the end of the year -- he's currently filming the musical "Dreamgirls," which has a terrific batch of songs that should send the sountrack into the Top Ten, especially with a cast that includes Foxx and Beyonce (not to mention Eddie Murphy, Mos Def, Heavy D, Danny Glover and "American Idol's" Jennifer Hudson -- who just edged out "American Idol's" Fantasia). Can't wait to see this movie, which is being helmed by "Kinsey" director Bill Condon. They already played a teaser trailer over the holidays, though I believe they used Jennifer Holiday's original version of the show's anthemic "And I Am Telling You, I'm Not Going" for the music.
And if that's not enough "American Idol" news for one day, you can also find recent winner Carrie Underwood at Number Five with her debut album, Kelly Clarkson at Number 12 with her four-times platinum hit "Breakaway," and Bo Bice at number 38.
The little band that could is Fall Out Boy, which has two singles in the Top 15 and their platinum album at Number 11, about to re-enter the Top Ten.
At Least Two Olympic Skaters Not Gay!
In a remarkable development, People magazine reports that pairs figure skaters David Pelletier and Jamie Sale have wed. That makes at least two ice skaters -- and one male! -- who apparently aren't gay.
"Hoodwinked" -- The New "Reservoir Dogs?"
Check out my short New York Post feature on "Hoodwinked," the new animated flick that puts a "Shrek"-like spin on Little Red Riding Hood. The movie was made for a remarkably cheap $15 million (at most). Remember when people sat up straight when "Ice Age" was made for $60 million (and went on to easily gross $500 million worldwide once you added in DVD sales)? "Hoodwinked" shows its low cost (Red's cape flutters behind her none-too-convincingly.) But as director Cory Edwards points out, that doesn't matter if the characters are convincing and the jokes funny. (The trailer gets a big laugh when a tree in the forest crashes to the ground and two turtles yell "Run!" before it hits and then slowly, slowly start to move long after the tree has landed.
This movie has already received decent reviews and with a silly trailer, family appeal and the marketing muscle of the Weinstein Company, I'm betting it will make back its budget on opening weekend. What do you think?
This movie has already received decent reviews and with a silly trailer, family appeal and the marketing muscle of the Weinstein Company, I'm betting it will make back its budget on opening weekend. What do you think?
Simon Cowell: The New King Of Pop
Everyone knows "American Idol" -- powered in no small part by the blunt honesty of Simon Cowell -- is a massive TV hit. With three of the best-selling albums of 2005 and an ever-increasing list of artists who've scored again and again on the pop charts (Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Fantasia, Bo Bice and on and on), everyone has to admit the stars the show creates are often proving remarkably durable.
Well, the latest pop charts in the UK prove Cowell has the golden touch there as well. His own reality show -- "The X Factor" -- is a huge hit there on Saturday nights. (In that show, experts -- one of whom is Cowell -- groom their own act to win it all, putting their expertise where their mouth is.)
Atop the singles charts? Shayne Ward with massive hit single "That's My Goal." It became the Christmas single (an annual, highly touted race to see who can have the Number One song in the UK at Christmas) and remains on top. Ward was launched by The X Factor, naturally. On the album chart, you'll find The Strokes debuting at Number One with "First Impressions of Earth," a feat they'd love to duplicate in America, where their press clippings threaten to outnumber their album sales. (That's more of a comment on the amount of their press clippings than the number of CDs they've sold, mind you.)You'll also find four albums in the Top 40 linked to Cowell.
Back on the singles chart, you can also find Madonna at Number Three with her worldwide hit "Hung Up," Clarkson (again) at Number Eleven, and Diana Ross on boy band Westlife's "When You Tell Me That You Love Me." (That group's singer Mark Feehily didn't have to bother coming out recently if he was going to duet with Miss Ross, did he? But good on him.) I think that could potentially be Ross's first Top Ten hit since 1999.
Oh, and who is the mastermind behind Westlife? You guessed it. Simon Cowell.
Well, the latest pop charts in the UK prove Cowell has the golden touch there as well. His own reality show -- "The X Factor" -- is a huge hit there on Saturday nights. (In that show, experts -- one of whom is Cowell -- groom their own act to win it all, putting their expertise where their mouth is.)
Atop the singles charts? Shayne Ward with massive hit single "That's My Goal." It became the Christmas single (an annual, highly touted race to see who can have the Number One song in the UK at Christmas) and remains on top. Ward was launched by The X Factor, naturally. On the album chart, you'll find The Strokes debuting at Number One with "First Impressions of Earth," a feat they'd love to duplicate in America, where their press clippings threaten to outnumber their album sales. (That's more of a comment on the amount of their press clippings than the number of CDs they've sold, mind you.)You'll also find four albums in the Top 40 linked to Cowell.
Back on the singles chart, you can also find Madonna at Number Three with her worldwide hit "Hung Up," Clarkson (again) at Number Eleven, and Diana Ross on boy band Westlife's "When You Tell Me That You Love Me." (That group's singer Mark Feehily didn't have to bother coming out recently if he was going to duet with Miss Ross, did he? But good on him.) I think that could potentially be Ross's first Top Ten hit since 1999.
Oh, and who is the mastermind behind Westlife? You guessed it. Simon Cowell.
Do You Love A Man In Uniform?
Prince William, 23, begins his military career at Sandhurst. There's also a link in the article to video of William's arrival. Of course, Prince Harry started his military training already and will graduate first -- that means, for a while, William will have to salute him, an irony I can appreciate as the youngest of six. When he becomes King, William will be the symbolic head of the British military.
Mormons Afraid Of "Brokeback Mountain"
The Mormons -- arguably the most bigoted, actively anti-gay mainstream religion -- is petrified of "Brokeback Mountain." And with good reason. Any decent human being, any good Christian, indeed anyone who sees the film with an open heart will experience a sad, tragic story about how cruel and damaging it is to force people to deny who they are. They'll see a movie about two people in love and audiences will wish their story didn't end so sadly. And audiences will cry. Here's a story on what a popular date movie it's turning into for straight couples.
But not in Salt Lake City. According to USA Today, at the last moment, the movie theater in Salt Lake City scheduled to show the film backed out of its agreement and cancelled the movie's debut. You gotta love when bigotry and fear trumps money in a businessman. (The movie has already grossed $22 mil in limited release and anticipation is high as it racks up one award after the other on the way to the Oscars. It's in 80 cities, well ahead of where they expected to be at this stage and you can be sure it will hit 1500 screens when the movie gets 8+ Oscar nods.)
Two things. First, only one theater in Salt Lake City was going to be showing the movie? That's the implication of the story in USA Today. Surely some other theater will step up to the plate. There's popcorn (and Kleenex) to be sold!
Second, the owner of the theater is Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller. How does the NBA feel having a bigot as one of its owners? How do the fans of Utah Jazz who are gay feel about Miller's actions? If you're a fan of Utah Jazz - ESPECIALLY if you're a season ticket holder -- call them at 801-325-2500 and tell them what you think about Miller's hate-mongering. Let us know what they say.
But not in Salt Lake City. According to USA Today, at the last moment, the movie theater in Salt Lake City scheduled to show the film backed out of its agreement and cancelled the movie's debut. You gotta love when bigotry and fear trumps money in a businessman. (The movie has already grossed $22 mil in limited release and anticipation is high as it racks up one award after the other on the way to the Oscars. It's in 80 cities, well ahead of where they expected to be at this stage and you can be sure it will hit 1500 screens when the movie gets 8+ Oscar nods.)
Two things. First, only one theater in Salt Lake City was going to be showing the movie? That's the implication of the story in USA Today. Surely some other theater will step up to the plate. There's popcorn (and Kleenex) to be sold!
Second, the owner of the theater is Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller. How does the NBA feel having a bigot as one of its owners? How do the fans of Utah Jazz who are gay feel about Miller's actions? If you're a fan of Utah Jazz - ESPECIALLY if you're a season ticket holder -- call them at 801-325-2500 and tell them what you think about Miller's hate-mongering. Let us know what they say.
DVD Reviews -- Constant Gardener, Hustle & Flow and more
My New York Post DVD column gets tinier and tinier. (I'm beginning to feel like Norma Desmond with my complaints.) But here's the latest oh-so-brief edition, covering DVDs "The Constant Gardener," "Hustle & Flow" (I enjoyed the whores even more than Terrence Howard's pimp), "Dead Poets Society" and all of six words on the great Ingmar Bergman's "Saraband." (And three of those words are "Ingmar," "Bergman" and "Saraband.")
"Miami Vice" -- Would Anyone Call It Realistic? Except The New York Times?
Their writers get paid much better than I do, so I'm sure they can take the heat. And yes, I'm sure any of my own hack work could be just as easily mocked. But then, I don't work for the paper of record, so no one cares when I write something silly. So with that out of the way, here's my latest beef.
The NYT is never worse than when trying to glibly deal with pop culture and/or trying to treat glib pop culture too seriously. They're not Entertainment Weekly and shouldn't try. Here's the NYT on "Miami Vice" from Friday's paper:
What do you think this rather bizarre sentence is referring to? Besides, shouldn't that read "Aerobics WAS inclusive" anyway, since aerobics is singular?
The NYT is never worse than when trying to glibly deal with pop culture and/or trying to treat glib pop culture too seriously. They're not Entertainment Weekly and shouldn't try. Here's the NYT on "Miami Vice" from Friday's paper:
[Crockett and Tubbs] were hardened, dedicated officers, but they also made their fair share of blunders, mistakes and dumb assumptions. They were dissolute but human, gritty but glamorous: the MTVification of "Hill Street Blues."Crockett and Tubbs were hardened and dedicated? "Miami Vice" -- the show in which, as the NYT mentions, Crockett kept a pet alligator, they floated around Miami in designer clothes and drove ultra-expensive automobiles to the sounds of Phil Collins -- was realistic, in the tradition of "Hill Street Blues?" It was fun, but gritty? Really? And then there's this from the intro:
It's settled. The '80s were more fun. Aerobics, unlike elliptical machines and Pilates, were inclusive.Huh? I'm still arguing with Monkeyboy about what that means. I thought it was referring to class, as if aerobics were for the masses and Pilates and elliptical machines for the wealthy. Monkeyboy says it refers to the way they were done, aerobics typically in classes and Pilates more often with a one-on-one instructor and elliptical machines in the isolating world of the gym, I suppose. He couldn't be bothered to put up much fuss when I argued the classic '80s image of aerobics was women performing it at home, alone, via the Jane Fonda Workout tape and that Pilates can be done in groups. (Can't it?)
What do you think this rather bizarre sentence is referring to? Besides, shouldn't that read "Aerobics WAS inclusive" anyway, since aerobics is singular?
UK Bestsellers of 2005 -- Harry Potter Magical...But By How Much?
The Times of London published the top 50 bestsellers of 2005. Here's the link, then click on the chart image to make it bigger. (If you don't want to register for the Times of London (or any newspaper site) go to www.bugmenot.com for info on how to easily get around that.) What I love about the British book charts -- and what I hope BookSense adopts for America -- is the fact that every week, they list EXACTLY how many copies a book has sold. Some weeks, you can see a book made the Top 15 by selling, oh, 1,200 copies. Imagine if the Movie Box Office charts just listed what film was Number One, Number Two and so on, rather than telling you exactly what they grossed.
So looking at the British charts, a few things jump out. Harry Potter is number one, with 3,538,482 copies sold. Dan Brown has the next four slots, beginning of course with "The Da Vinci Code" at 2.2 million copies sold. Another quirk of the UK booksellers is that they often release mass market paperbacks at the same time as the hardcover. So Brown sold 2.2 mil copies of the paperback at 7 pounds. Meanwhile, here in the US, the mass market paperback finally comes out March 28, a mere three years (almost to the day) after the hardcover first came out. (The movie hits theaters May 19.) And the publishing industry wonders why it's in a slump.
Su Doku also owns a couple of slots, along with actor Ewan McGregor's travelogue and a clutch of books by gentle mystery author Alexander McCall Smith.
And the brilliant playwright Alan Bennett -- as beloved in the UK as perhaps Neil Simon is, in his way, here -- has already sold 300,000 copies of "Untold Stories," his second collection of autobiographical pieces, reviews, articles, diary entries and other miscellany. It just came out in October, so clearly it was found wrapped under a lot of Christmas trees. I'm halfway through the book and finding it disarmingly frank. Bennett was told by doctors he probably wouldn't make it when diagnosed with a terrible disease and he threw caution to the wind when writing. Once he kept on living, Bennett said oh well, and published the unusually frank (for him) material anyway. Hence we read about family tragedies like his mother's frequent stays in a mental hospital, her beneficial electro-shock treatments, a grandfather who killed himself, Bennett's gay-bashing while on vacation with his much-younger partner and so on. (And indeed, partner seems just the right word for someone as proper and unforthcoming as Bennett often pretends to be. "Lover" would be absurdly out of character.) Bennett's delightful play "The History Boys" plays in New York this April for a limited run. (It's already been filmed and will be released as a movie in the fall.) Very, very funny and terribly British, it may be just the show to give Bennett the acclaim he's never quite enjoyed in America.
So looking at the British charts, a few things jump out. Harry Potter is number one, with 3,538,482 copies sold. Dan Brown has the next four slots, beginning of course with "The Da Vinci Code" at 2.2 million copies sold. Another quirk of the UK booksellers is that they often release mass market paperbacks at the same time as the hardcover. So Brown sold 2.2 mil copies of the paperback at 7 pounds. Meanwhile, here in the US, the mass market paperback finally comes out March 28, a mere three years (almost to the day) after the hardcover first came out. (The movie hits theaters May 19.) And the publishing industry wonders why it's in a slump.
Su Doku also owns a couple of slots, along with actor Ewan McGregor's travelogue and a clutch of books by gentle mystery author Alexander McCall Smith.
And the brilliant playwright Alan Bennett -- as beloved in the UK as perhaps Neil Simon is, in his way, here -- has already sold 300,000 copies of "Untold Stories," his second collection of autobiographical pieces, reviews, articles, diary entries and other miscellany. It just came out in October, so clearly it was found wrapped under a lot of Christmas trees. I'm halfway through the book and finding it disarmingly frank. Bennett was told by doctors he probably wouldn't make it when diagnosed with a terrible disease and he threw caution to the wind when writing. Once he kept on living, Bennett said oh well, and published the unusually frank (for him) material anyway. Hence we read about family tragedies like his mother's frequent stays in a mental hospital, her beneficial electro-shock treatments, a grandfather who killed himself, Bennett's gay-bashing while on vacation with his much-younger partner and so on. (And indeed, partner seems just the right word for someone as proper and unforthcoming as Bennett often pretends to be. "Lover" would be absurdly out of character.) Bennett's delightful play "The History Boys" plays in New York this April for a limited run. (It's already been filmed and will be released as a movie in the fall.) Very, very funny and terribly British, it may be just the show to give Bennett the acclaim he's never quite enjoyed in America.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Weekend Box Office: Lions Remain The King of the Jungle
It's been obvious for a few weeks now and this weekend's box office makes it official: "The Chronicles of Narnia" will gross more than "King Kong." It won the weekend box office race, with new horror entry "Hostel" taking the lead at $20.1 million, "Narnia" at $15.4 million, and "Kong" at $12.5 million.
But don't let anyone call "Kong" a flop. It's worldwide cume is already $465 mil and it may beat "Narnia" overall. Besides, "Kong" got terrific reviews (don't ask me why) and is still a strong possibility for the Oscars. The Academy loves to recognize the big splashy hits that only Hollywood can produce and "Kong" is definitely that. And with "Kong easily grossing half a billion dollars at the box office, with another $300 mil (easily) via DVD, TV, cable, satellite and so on, they'll do just fine. No, it's not spinning out gold compared to its $200 mil pricetag, but so what? Any smart studio would take that return on their money anyday. Now here's hoping Jackson settles down to "The Hobbit" and gets that out of the way before actors like Ian McKellen get too old to reprise their roles.
"Brokeback Mountain," by the way, has hit a total of $22.5 million on only 485 screens, with a very good screen average of $12,000. Its release has been picture-perfect, with lots of room to grow down the road when the Oscar nominations strike. Since the film only cost some $15 mil to make, anything above $30 mil is a big success, above $50 mil (three times the film's budget) is a relative blockbuster). And if the film can hit close to $100 mil, it will be exceptional. But don't let anyone else raise the bar too high: $50 mil (which is very doable) is hugely successful.
"Munich" (at $25 mil) and "Memoirs of A Geisha" (at $40) will need a boost via Oscar for any hopes of turning into hits. "Munich," especially, is poised to become one of Spielberg's weakest outings ever. Only "Amistad," "Always" and "1941" come close to "Munich" since Speilberg broke out with "Jaws" back in the early 70s.
But don't let anyone call "Kong" a flop. It's worldwide cume is already $465 mil and it may beat "Narnia" overall. Besides, "Kong" got terrific reviews (don't ask me why) and is still a strong possibility for the Oscars. The Academy loves to recognize the big splashy hits that only Hollywood can produce and "Kong" is definitely that. And with "Kong easily grossing half a billion dollars at the box office, with another $300 mil (easily) via DVD, TV, cable, satellite and so on, they'll do just fine. No, it's not spinning out gold compared to its $200 mil pricetag, but so what? Any smart studio would take that return on their money anyday. Now here's hoping Jackson settles down to "The Hobbit" and gets that out of the way before actors like Ian McKellen get too old to reprise their roles.
"Brokeback Mountain," by the way, has hit a total of $22.5 million on only 485 screens, with a very good screen average of $12,000. Its release has been picture-perfect, with lots of room to grow down the road when the Oscar nominations strike. Since the film only cost some $15 mil to make, anything above $30 mil is a big success, above $50 mil (three times the film's budget) is a relative blockbuster). And if the film can hit close to $100 mil, it will be exceptional. But don't let anyone else raise the bar too high: $50 mil (which is very doable) is hugely successful.
"Munich" (at $25 mil) and "Memoirs of A Geisha" (at $40) will need a boost via Oscar for any hopes of turning into hits. "Munich," especially, is poised to become one of Spielberg's weakest outings ever. Only "Amistad," "Always" and "1941" come close to "Munich" since Speilberg broke out with "Jaws" back in the early 70s.
Wal-Mart Was Wrong...To Apologize
Wal-Mart had another hit to its pr image thanks to its website, which was selling "Planet of the Apes -- The Complete TV Series." Under "similar items" included DVDs on African American figures like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Wal-Mart was wrong, of course. (It usually is.) But this time it was wrong for apologizing, at least for pretending the link was racist. Of course, Wal-Mart was running in the other direction from a seemingly racist slur and none of its top executives have probably even seen the darn movies.
But not only are the "Planet of the Apes" movies not racist, they are explicitly anti-racist. That is, indeed, the entire point of them, especially the first one, "Planet of the Apes." Entire books have been written on this topic. This isn't just one way of considering the movies, and it's not subtext either. It's text. It is entirely what the movies are about: the fact that you shouldn't treat people like animals just because they seem different from you.
It was written by Rod Serling, a very liberal guy, who often used allegories in The Twilight Zone and elsewhere, commenting on social and racial issues via fantasy and sci-fi.
Those links are always silly -- Do you like Citizen Kane? You'll like American Pie too! -- so it could have just been "accidental." More likely, people who looked at POTA also looked at films on civil rights, because that is exactly what POTA is about.
Wal-Mart panicked when they should have just said, 'This movie is widely seen by critics and fans as an allegory about the civil rights movement. It was written by Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone, who often used fantasy and sci-fi to tackle the social issues of the time. In deference to anyone who may be offended because they're unfamiliar with the film, we'll unlink the recommendations to other dvds that tackle civil rights issues. But we encourage everyone to explore this film as much more than merely an entertaining tale. It comments wisely and revealingly on racial issues and the folly of treating people cruelly simply because they look different than you."
But of course Wal-Mart is too busy hiring illegal immigrants and locking them in their stores over night and forcing employees to skip their lunch breaks to do anything that intelligent.
Wal-Mart was wrong, of course. (It usually is.) But this time it was wrong for apologizing, at least for pretending the link was racist. Of course, Wal-Mart was running in the other direction from a seemingly racist slur and none of its top executives have probably even seen the darn movies.
But not only are the "Planet of the Apes" movies not racist, they are explicitly anti-racist. That is, indeed, the entire point of them, especially the first one, "Planet of the Apes." Entire books have been written on this topic. This isn't just one way of considering the movies, and it's not subtext either. It's text. It is entirely what the movies are about: the fact that you shouldn't treat people like animals just because they seem different from you.
It was written by Rod Serling, a very liberal guy, who often used allegories in The Twilight Zone and elsewhere, commenting on social and racial issues via fantasy and sci-fi.
Those links are always silly -- Do you like Citizen Kane? You'll like American Pie too! -- so it could have just been "accidental." More likely, people who looked at POTA also looked at films on civil rights, because that is exactly what POTA is about.
Wal-Mart panicked when they should have just said, 'This movie is widely seen by critics and fans as an allegory about the civil rights movement. It was written by Rod Serling of The Twilight Zone, who often used fantasy and sci-fi to tackle the social issues of the time. In deference to anyone who may be offended because they're unfamiliar with the film, we'll unlink the recommendations to other dvds that tackle civil rights issues. But we encourage everyone to explore this film as much more than merely an entertaining tale. It comments wisely and revealingly on racial issues and the folly of treating people cruelly simply because they look different than you."
But of course Wal-Mart is too busy hiring illegal immigrants and locking them in their stores over night and forcing employees to skip their lunch breaks to do anything that intelligent.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
20 Favorite CDs -- The Full Story
THE BEACH BOYS/Pet Sounds -- One of my favorite pleasures is the comic strip Doonesbury, which I firmly believe combines the social satire/awareness of Charles Dickens with the ongoing pleasures of a TV show and the political bite of Mencken to create one of the most lasting, revealing and remarkable chronicles of any age. (It's been ongoing for 30 years and shows no sign of stopping. Future historians wanting to know what our times were like would do well to start with it. So would future readers looking for entertainment of the highest order.) And I was never a particular Beach Boys fan till a gay character on Doonesbury who'd been around for many years came back into the picture because he had AIDS. Slowly, over many months (if not longer), we returned to him and saw his progress in the 80s as he got sicker and sicker. This coincided with the rise of the CD, when fans of particular artists waited with bated breath for certain classic albums to finally come out on the new format. The release of the Beatles, for example, made headlines. And the man dying of AIDS in this comic strip ultimately had one goal: to live long enough to hear Pet Sounds on CD. I don't know how long Trudeau stretched that storyline out. But in 1990 on a Tuesday on the very day that Pet Sounds hit stores, Doonesbury simply showed the empty bedroom where the man had been seen in his final days, a cool breeze blowing in the curtains and Pet Sounds playing on his CD player. The mix of the comic strip world and the real one (hey, I was running out that day to buy the CD too) was stunning and moving and heartbreaking. Needless to say, the album is worthy of that moment, gorgeous and reflective and exhilarating and sophisticated and sad, often in the same song.
BEASTIE BOYS/Paul's Boutique -- Opened my mind once and for all to how bold and experimental and hilarious and complex rap music and hip hop could be.
THE BEATLES/Revolver -- Next week it'll be the White Album or Abbey Road or the unfairly ignored Sgt. Pepper. But today it's this once. The greatest rock band of all time, obviously.
THE BLUE NILE/A Walk Across The Rooftops -- a crazy little UK band with a crazy backstory. Apparently, the guys in the band were regular folk with day jobs. But one of them working for a turntable manufacturer (Linn, I believe) got a tiny budget to record an LP to demonstrate the fidelity of a high end turntable model. They took the money and knowing it was literally being recorded for themselves (the LP would only be pressed with hundreds of copies to be distributed to stereo shops), they made a deeply personal, quirky but lovely album. People looking to buy a stereo kept saying, "What album is that?" and "Where can I buy it?" A record label finally got wind of it and put it out and it became a critic's darling in the UK. Still wildly unknown in the US even after the album came out, it was perfect, late night, lights out fare filled with echo-y passages, distant rumbles and a world-weary air. It also contained one of the most mature romantic lines I have ever heard: "Stay, and I will understand you. I will understand you." Wow, what a promise. The Blue Nile became relatively big (huge in the UK, actually) with their second album, but they represent the rock fanatic's pleasure in cults, in discovering an album, an artist (Captain Beefheart, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, etc.) that is yours and yours alone, something that 99.99% of the world will absolutely never hear about and if they did they wouldn't get it.
BOB DYLAN/Highway 61 Revisited -- I already liked Dylan but this is the one that did me in, this is the CD I can still remember listening to for the first time, driving in my car and playing the CD on my stereo and almost driving off the road shaking with laughter over the lyrics in "Highway 61 Revisited." I'd never limit Dylan to one trait, but God can he be funny.
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL/Idlewild -- Strangely, live music hasn't been a big part of my rock n roll life. I've certainly been to my share of concerts, but I'd instinctively rather buy five more CDs than one concert ticket. But I got a double pleasure one night, driving to Atlanta with Denise to see the Pogues in concert in the heyday (a great show) and Denise insisting I listen to this album in its entirety, and with attention. I immediately recognized the cover -- I'd picked it up in the store and almost bought it once or twice because the cover and song titles appealed (a highly underrated method for discovering new music) and she played it for me and then she played it again because I insisted. So often, people who love music will foolishly try to get their more casual friends to listen to an album or even a song and you'll play it and they'll start to listen and then begin talking or ask where you want to go to dinner or wander off and read something while still "listening." I wouldn't do that and Denise knew it. So "Idlewild" is the pleasure of a friend buttonholing you and saying, "You've GOT to listen to this." And then the lovely female singer (Tracey Thorn) was replaced in the middle by Ben Watts singing the lovely "The Night I Heard Caruso Sing." The bastard saved the best song for himself and I was sold.
MARVIN GAYE/What's Going On/Let's Get It On two-fer CD -- A rarely to be repeated event, this was a CD release of two classic Marvin Gaye albums on one CD, making it at the time about the best buy in the world. Nowadays they're split up again with deluxe editions that offer unnecessary extras. They'll never blow people's minds the way I flipped out over this one CD and the spacey, trippy, hippy gorgeous hymns on What's Going On, only to have that album immediately followed by the insanely funky and naughty and sexy grooves of Let's Get It On. So THIS is where Prince came from.
MADNESS/Keep Moving -- a terrific British pop band that, in my mind, got better and better, even though they practically amounted to one hit wonders in the US. They had another album or two after this one and then live CDs and beloved icon status in the UK, but this was my favorite album, a keen, diverse album that stands up remarkably well. I'm fairly alone, but I think it's their masterpiece and a worthy heir to the Kinks. And it exemplifies one of the cardinal pleasures of music buying, a pleasure fairly absent in the days of the Internet. I bought the album on cassette which contained two extra tracks and the album in an entirely different running order than the LP. To my horror, when it came out on CD, it was the LP version -- 12 songs instead of 14 and the "wrong" running order. Thus followed years -- and I do mean years -- of fruitless searching in record bins, always wondering if maybe a new CD had come out or maybe it was available on import or maybe when I went to London I'd find it there and on and on it went for YEARS, an almost automatic searching in the Ms to see if there was a new version of "Keep Moving" (along with automatic searches for certain albums by Richard and Linda Thompson and a host of other artists with an album or career that had fallen into the cracks) and on and on it went until one day, without even expecting it, I was casually roaming the aisles of Tower Records in NYC and reflexively searched the Madness section and there it was, Keep Moving on CD with all 14 tracks and in the proper order...and it was a bargain CD release for less than $10. I would have paid $50 gladly. How will kids in the future know the pleasure of this when they'll be able to download any album ever recorded in the history of man in about ten seconds?
JONI MITCHELL/Blue & VAN MORRISON/Moondance -- A number of artists not on this list would be here if I listed my Top 20 CDs by virtue of how often I've played them -- Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffet and Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits and The Big Chill soundtrack and Roy Orbison's greatest hits rerecorded for Virgin. The list goes on. But here are two albums obscurely linked in my mind and I have played them so often it's sometimes hard to really listen to them and appreciate how brilliant they are. What's most remarkable is their flexibility -- in the middle of the day, late at night, sitting quietly and listening, in the midst of a party, driving down the highway in the moonlight, sitting on the beach, happy or sad or wanting to feel one or the other -- these albums do the job. They are endlessly repeatable and never grow tired or stale. They're too good. And they'll probably be playing in my head when I lay dying. It's the music I've lived by.
RANDY NEWMAN/Sail Away -- Here's another distinct pleasure: the artist who leads me to so many others. An utterly original work -- it sounds like a pop album via Stephen Foster -- with songs that might have been standards a hundred years ago, some of them sentimental, some of them biting, some of them cheap laughs that turn out knowing. It's a WISE album. And Randy Newman led me to Harry Nilsson and Van Dyke Parks and then Pet Sounds and Rufus Wainwright and a thousand other quirky little artists.
PREFAB SPROUT/Swoon -- My introduction to swag. I first heard about this British pop band in Rolling Stone, which listed them with Lone Justice and eight others as Bands To Watch (their albums were almost all due out well in the future). Then I went to college and stumbled into an open house at the school newspaper. Did I want to review an album? Sure. The arts editor told me to choose from a stack and Prefab Sprout immediately jumped to my attention. (Who could forget a name like that?) I took it home and played it and it was GREAT -0- quirky and odd and witty and catchy and quite original. Was this what it was like to be an entertainment writer. People gave you free albums and you got to hear terrific music before anyone else? I was hooked.
PRINCE/Purple Rain -- not even my favorite Prince album (that would be Parade or 1999) and certainly no album with a song called "Computer Blue" is likely to be perfect. But it was exciting. Some people hate it when their artist explodes in popularity. As long as the music is still great (obviously), I think it's exciting. You're watching a major talent swing for the fences and connect. Listening to this album (the same summer Springsteen exploded with Born in the USA), I thought selling 8 or 10 million copies of a sensational album was about the most thrilling thing imaginable. "When Doves Cry" -- still a remarkably original song -- was on the radio and delivered a jolt of electricity every time, the movie Purple Rain was in the theaters (when he performed "The Lonely Ones" it was roof-raising) and Prince was wowing me in concert. Rock n roll could take over the world or at least dominate pop culture and when the artist was this good, who could be sad about that?
RADIOHEAD/OK Computer -- I never got to hear Dark Side of the Moon for the first time without KNOWING I was hearing Dark Side Of The Moon. This was my second chance and I loved it. Like Talking Heads with Remain in Light, this was the sound of an artist at their peak and incapable of taking a wrong step. I hear really good, even great albums all the time. But I don't often hear something that is immediately and clearly an undeniable, stone-cold classic. This was one of them.
R.E.M./Murmur -- patience, grasshopper. This album taught me the importance of taking my time and trusting my instincts. Huge hosannas greeted this album. I played it and liked it (almost out of a sense of obligation; I was probably too embarrassed to admit it didn't wow me). But yeah, it certainly wasn't something I'd be dismissive about just because it didn't blow me away. But I put it aside after playing it once or twice. I knew I'd come back to it once I was ready to listen again with open ears. A year passed and Reckoning was coming out and getting more raves and I was ready to listen again. The second it began, I remembered the notes, the feel, the moods of the album as if I'd been playing it over and over and over again for the past year rather than filing it way. (This would only happen a handful of times in the future and always indicated an album that would become a favorite.) The album was engrained in me and I immediately felt a passionate interest in it. What was I thinking before not to have fallen immediately in love with it? Who cared? I loved it now.
PAUL SIMON/Graceland -- Another album that was a clear and immediate world-beater, even though I wasn't thrilled with the last two songs. Now it's such a familiar object, it's hard to remember -- but this sucker sounded STRANGE when it came out. Exotic and weird and thrilling and completely pop in the best sense of the word. No album before or since has opened up my eyes to a world of music like this one. First I bought the African compilation album "The Indestructible Beat of Soweto" and then an album by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and then I was off to the races. The world music section of the record store would forever be part of my routine from then on.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN/Nebraska -- I'm one of the 17 people whose first Springsteen album they anticipated and bought was Nebraska, the black and white still photograph that told a universal story of love and despair and hope by being so specific, by introducing me to the idea of a brand new used car, by sounding so ancient and old and timeless and contemporary. It sounded important without sounding pretentious or highfalutin. I knew it mattered. And then beyond all that it was 12 great songs, the best 12 Springsteen would ever string together. No better music when it's late at night and you're driving down the highway just a little too fast.
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON/Shoot Out The Lights -- I grew up in South Florida where the radio sucked. No one who ever grew up there fell in love with new music by listening to the radio. At best it would make you sick of new music -- not too bad a proposition if you needed a push to go discover some classic albums of the past. But the radio (or lack of it) from my youth led me to depend on reviews more than anything else to know what I should be listening to. Now of course I string together a hundred different sources: Billboard and Entertainment Weekly and three or four newspapers and music magazines and the British magazines and the British weeklys. If a bunch of them start raving about a band or use code words like "Nick Drake" or "Richard Thompson" or "Randy Newman" to describe an artist, then I know I've got to give them a listen. But back when I was young, one source alone was all I needed: Rolling Stone. If an album got four stars from them, I knew it needed to be heard. And perhaps the most significant review I ever read in my life was for a reissue of the collected works of Richard and Linda Thompson. It was the lead review (unusual for a reissue) and it gave almost all of the albums four or even five stars. The reviewer asked me to imagine some poor fool who was unfamiliar with the collected works of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones and then said I was that fool for not knowing the music of Richard and Linda Thompson. Their brilliant Pour Down Like Silver was "yet another jewel in their gem-heavy crown." (I'm quoting from memory but wouldn't be at all surprised if I was word-for-word.) It was the rave to end all raves and I was sent practically running to the nearest record store. I bought Shoot Out The Lights and it would take a while to sink in (just like Murmur) but once it sunk in it was bone-deep and there for life. And that led to all sorts of pleasures: other artists on the Hannibal label like Nick Drake and Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Fairport Convention and of course Richard Thompson and on to other music produced by Joe Boyd and on and on. It was a rich vein, the mother lode in many ways and I'm still carting out riches.
U2/The Joshua Tree -- Like I said, some people get annoyed when their artist gets so popular that even the fan's mother has heard of them and can sing along with one of their songs. I find it thrilling when done right and few artists seized the crown of Biggest Rock Band in the World with the panache and passion of U2. Tremendously entertaining live, but my God, you put on this album and just knew, instantly knew, they'd conquered the world.
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT/Want One -- separate from massive worldwide fame is the similar pleasure of seeing an artist blossom into a world class talent. Wainwright debuted with a terrific album, stumbled just a tad with his second CD and then delivered...a masterpiece. It's wonderful to believe someone has unlimited potential and then watch them fulfill it, even if the rest of the world hasn't quite caught up yet.
DIONNE WARWICK/The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits -- And in the end, I don't know anything. There is so much music out there, so much music I haven't paid attention to but know I'll love (whether it's the Kinks or Eric B and Rakim or Mott The Hoople), that I have to remember there's so much more than even what I expect if I'll keep an open mind. I thought I knew what I thought of Dionne Warwick, thanks to "That's What Friends Are For" and "Alfie." But I hadn't a clue until I bought this greatest hits cd and realized she had one remarkable song after another and that Burt Bacharach was an amazingly complex writer. I know how obvious this sounds, but they weren't quite in the public eye the way they (and especially Bacharach) have been in the last ten years. And of course everyone has to discover every artist for themselves, whether it's the Beatles or Mott the Hoople or Tom Waits or The Band and to every 15 year old out there, those bands are going to blow their minds. And you have to keep that mind open, because there's a lot more wonderful music out there than you can possibly imagine, no matter how wide-ranging your tastes are (wait til you hear the gentle, sexy songs of Mississippi John Hurt or listen, really listen to Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western) and no matter how much you listen to. And sometimes great music is staring you right in the face and you don't even know it until you stop thinking you know it all. And just listen.
BEASTIE BOYS/Paul's Boutique -- Opened my mind once and for all to how bold and experimental and hilarious and complex rap music and hip hop could be.
THE BEATLES/Revolver -- Next week it'll be the White Album or Abbey Road or the unfairly ignored Sgt. Pepper. But today it's this once. The greatest rock band of all time, obviously.
THE BLUE NILE/A Walk Across The Rooftops -- a crazy little UK band with a crazy backstory. Apparently, the guys in the band were regular folk with day jobs. But one of them working for a turntable manufacturer (Linn, I believe) got a tiny budget to record an LP to demonstrate the fidelity of a high end turntable model. They took the money and knowing it was literally being recorded for themselves (the LP would only be pressed with hundreds of copies to be distributed to stereo shops), they made a deeply personal, quirky but lovely album. People looking to buy a stereo kept saying, "What album is that?" and "Where can I buy it?" A record label finally got wind of it and put it out and it became a critic's darling in the UK. Still wildly unknown in the US even after the album came out, it was perfect, late night, lights out fare filled with echo-y passages, distant rumbles and a world-weary air. It also contained one of the most mature romantic lines I have ever heard: "Stay, and I will understand you. I will understand you." Wow, what a promise. The Blue Nile became relatively big (huge in the UK, actually) with their second album, but they represent the rock fanatic's pleasure in cults, in discovering an album, an artist (Captain Beefheart, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, etc.) that is yours and yours alone, something that 99.99% of the world will absolutely never hear about and if they did they wouldn't get it.
BOB DYLAN/Highway 61 Revisited -- I already liked Dylan but this is the one that did me in, this is the CD I can still remember listening to for the first time, driving in my car and playing the CD on my stereo and almost driving off the road shaking with laughter over the lyrics in "Highway 61 Revisited." I'd never limit Dylan to one trait, but God can he be funny.
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL/Idlewild -- Strangely, live music hasn't been a big part of my rock n roll life. I've certainly been to my share of concerts, but I'd instinctively rather buy five more CDs than one concert ticket. But I got a double pleasure one night, driving to Atlanta with Denise to see the Pogues in concert in the heyday (a great show) and Denise insisting I listen to this album in its entirety, and with attention. I immediately recognized the cover -- I'd picked it up in the store and almost bought it once or twice because the cover and song titles appealed (a highly underrated method for discovering new music) and she played it for me and then she played it again because I insisted. So often, people who love music will foolishly try to get their more casual friends to listen to an album or even a song and you'll play it and they'll start to listen and then begin talking or ask where you want to go to dinner or wander off and read something while still "listening." I wouldn't do that and Denise knew it. So "Idlewild" is the pleasure of a friend buttonholing you and saying, "You've GOT to listen to this." And then the lovely female singer (Tracey Thorn) was replaced in the middle by Ben Watts singing the lovely "The Night I Heard Caruso Sing." The bastard saved the best song for himself and I was sold.
MARVIN GAYE/What's Going On/Let's Get It On two-fer CD -- A rarely to be repeated event, this was a CD release of two classic Marvin Gaye albums on one CD, making it at the time about the best buy in the world. Nowadays they're split up again with deluxe editions that offer unnecessary extras. They'll never blow people's minds the way I flipped out over this one CD and the spacey, trippy, hippy gorgeous hymns on What's Going On, only to have that album immediately followed by the insanely funky and naughty and sexy grooves of Let's Get It On. So THIS is where Prince came from.
MADNESS/Keep Moving -- a terrific British pop band that, in my mind, got better and better, even though they practically amounted to one hit wonders in the US. They had another album or two after this one and then live CDs and beloved icon status in the UK, but this was my favorite album, a keen, diverse album that stands up remarkably well. I'm fairly alone, but I think it's their masterpiece and a worthy heir to the Kinks. And it exemplifies one of the cardinal pleasures of music buying, a pleasure fairly absent in the days of the Internet. I bought the album on cassette which contained two extra tracks and the album in an entirely different running order than the LP. To my horror, when it came out on CD, it was the LP version -- 12 songs instead of 14 and the "wrong" running order. Thus followed years -- and I do mean years -- of fruitless searching in record bins, always wondering if maybe a new CD had come out or maybe it was available on import or maybe when I went to London I'd find it there and on and on it went for YEARS, an almost automatic searching in the Ms to see if there was a new version of "Keep Moving" (along with automatic searches for certain albums by Richard and Linda Thompson and a host of other artists with an album or career that had fallen into the cracks) and on and on it went until one day, without even expecting it, I was casually roaming the aisles of Tower Records in NYC and reflexively searched the Madness section and there it was, Keep Moving on CD with all 14 tracks and in the proper order...and it was a bargain CD release for less than $10. I would have paid $50 gladly. How will kids in the future know the pleasure of this when they'll be able to download any album ever recorded in the history of man in about ten seconds?
JONI MITCHELL/Blue & VAN MORRISON/Moondance -- A number of artists not on this list would be here if I listed my Top 20 CDs by virtue of how often I've played them -- Billy Joel and Jimmy Buffet and Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits and The Big Chill soundtrack and Roy Orbison's greatest hits rerecorded for Virgin. The list goes on. But here are two albums obscurely linked in my mind and I have played them so often it's sometimes hard to really listen to them and appreciate how brilliant they are. What's most remarkable is their flexibility -- in the middle of the day, late at night, sitting quietly and listening, in the midst of a party, driving down the highway in the moonlight, sitting on the beach, happy or sad or wanting to feel one or the other -- these albums do the job. They are endlessly repeatable and never grow tired or stale. They're too good. And they'll probably be playing in my head when I lay dying. It's the music I've lived by.
RANDY NEWMAN/Sail Away -- Here's another distinct pleasure: the artist who leads me to so many others. An utterly original work -- it sounds like a pop album via Stephen Foster -- with songs that might have been standards a hundred years ago, some of them sentimental, some of them biting, some of them cheap laughs that turn out knowing. It's a WISE album. And Randy Newman led me to Harry Nilsson and Van Dyke Parks and then Pet Sounds and Rufus Wainwright and a thousand other quirky little artists.
PREFAB SPROUT/Swoon -- My introduction to swag. I first heard about this British pop band in Rolling Stone, which listed them with Lone Justice and eight others as Bands To Watch (their albums were almost all due out well in the future). Then I went to college and stumbled into an open house at the school newspaper. Did I want to review an album? Sure. The arts editor told me to choose from a stack and Prefab Sprout immediately jumped to my attention. (Who could forget a name like that?) I took it home and played it and it was GREAT -0- quirky and odd and witty and catchy and quite original. Was this what it was like to be an entertainment writer. People gave you free albums and you got to hear terrific music before anyone else? I was hooked.
PRINCE/Purple Rain -- not even my favorite Prince album (that would be Parade or 1999) and certainly no album with a song called "Computer Blue" is likely to be perfect. But it was exciting. Some people hate it when their artist explodes in popularity. As long as the music is still great (obviously), I think it's exciting. You're watching a major talent swing for the fences and connect. Listening to this album (the same summer Springsteen exploded with Born in the USA), I thought selling 8 or 10 million copies of a sensational album was about the most thrilling thing imaginable. "When Doves Cry" -- still a remarkably original song -- was on the radio and delivered a jolt of electricity every time, the movie Purple Rain was in the theaters (when he performed "The Lonely Ones" it was roof-raising) and Prince was wowing me in concert. Rock n roll could take over the world or at least dominate pop culture and when the artist was this good, who could be sad about that?
RADIOHEAD/OK Computer -- I never got to hear Dark Side of the Moon for the first time without KNOWING I was hearing Dark Side Of The Moon. This was my second chance and I loved it. Like Talking Heads with Remain in Light, this was the sound of an artist at their peak and incapable of taking a wrong step. I hear really good, even great albums all the time. But I don't often hear something that is immediately and clearly an undeniable, stone-cold classic. This was one of them.
R.E.M./Murmur -- patience, grasshopper. This album taught me the importance of taking my time and trusting my instincts. Huge hosannas greeted this album. I played it and liked it (almost out of a sense of obligation; I was probably too embarrassed to admit it didn't wow me). But yeah, it certainly wasn't something I'd be dismissive about just because it didn't blow me away. But I put it aside after playing it once or twice. I knew I'd come back to it once I was ready to listen again with open ears. A year passed and Reckoning was coming out and getting more raves and I was ready to listen again. The second it began, I remembered the notes, the feel, the moods of the album as if I'd been playing it over and over and over again for the past year rather than filing it way. (This would only happen a handful of times in the future and always indicated an album that would become a favorite.) The album was engrained in me and I immediately felt a passionate interest in it. What was I thinking before not to have fallen immediately in love with it? Who cared? I loved it now.
PAUL SIMON/Graceland -- Another album that was a clear and immediate world-beater, even though I wasn't thrilled with the last two songs. Now it's such a familiar object, it's hard to remember -- but this sucker sounded STRANGE when it came out. Exotic and weird and thrilling and completely pop in the best sense of the word. No album before or since has opened up my eyes to a world of music like this one. First I bought the African compilation album "The Indestructible Beat of Soweto" and then an album by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and then I was off to the races. The world music section of the record store would forever be part of my routine from then on.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN/Nebraska -- I'm one of the 17 people whose first Springsteen album they anticipated and bought was Nebraska, the black and white still photograph that told a universal story of love and despair and hope by being so specific, by introducing me to the idea of a brand new used car, by sounding so ancient and old and timeless and contemporary. It sounded important without sounding pretentious or highfalutin. I knew it mattered. And then beyond all that it was 12 great songs, the best 12 Springsteen would ever string together. No better music when it's late at night and you're driving down the highway just a little too fast.
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON/Shoot Out The Lights -- I grew up in South Florida where the radio sucked. No one who ever grew up there fell in love with new music by listening to the radio. At best it would make you sick of new music -- not too bad a proposition if you needed a push to go discover some classic albums of the past. But the radio (or lack of it) from my youth led me to depend on reviews more than anything else to know what I should be listening to. Now of course I string together a hundred different sources: Billboard and Entertainment Weekly and three or four newspapers and music magazines and the British magazines and the British weeklys. If a bunch of them start raving about a band or use code words like "Nick Drake" or "Richard Thompson" or "Randy Newman" to describe an artist, then I know I've got to give them a listen. But back when I was young, one source alone was all I needed: Rolling Stone. If an album got four stars from them, I knew it needed to be heard. And perhaps the most significant review I ever read in my life was for a reissue of the collected works of Richard and Linda Thompson. It was the lead review (unusual for a reissue) and it gave almost all of the albums four or even five stars. The reviewer asked me to imagine some poor fool who was unfamiliar with the collected works of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones and then said I was that fool for not knowing the music of Richard and Linda Thompson. Their brilliant Pour Down Like Silver was "yet another jewel in their gem-heavy crown." (I'm quoting from memory but wouldn't be at all surprised if I was word-for-word.) It was the rave to end all raves and I was sent practically running to the nearest record store. I bought Shoot Out The Lights and it would take a while to sink in (just like Murmur) but once it sunk in it was bone-deep and there for life. And that led to all sorts of pleasures: other artists on the Hannibal label like Nick Drake and Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Fairport Convention and of course Richard Thompson and on to other music produced by Joe Boyd and on and on. It was a rich vein, the mother lode in many ways and I'm still carting out riches.
U2/The Joshua Tree -- Like I said, some people get annoyed when their artist gets so popular that even the fan's mother has heard of them and can sing along with one of their songs. I find it thrilling when done right and few artists seized the crown of Biggest Rock Band in the World with the panache and passion of U2. Tremendously entertaining live, but my God, you put on this album and just knew, instantly knew, they'd conquered the world.
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT/Want One -- separate from massive worldwide fame is the similar pleasure of seeing an artist blossom into a world class talent. Wainwright debuted with a terrific album, stumbled just a tad with his second CD and then delivered...a masterpiece. It's wonderful to believe someone has unlimited potential and then watch them fulfill it, even if the rest of the world hasn't quite caught up yet.
DIONNE WARWICK/The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits -- And in the end, I don't know anything. There is so much music out there, so much music I haven't paid attention to but know I'll love (whether it's the Kinks or Eric B and Rakim or Mott The Hoople), that I have to remember there's so much more than even what I expect if I'll keep an open mind. I thought I knew what I thought of Dionne Warwick, thanks to "That's What Friends Are For" and "Alfie." But I hadn't a clue until I bought this greatest hits cd and realized she had one remarkable song after another and that Burt Bacharach was an amazingly complex writer. I know how obvious this sounds, but they weren't quite in the public eye the way they (and especially Bacharach) have been in the last ten years. And of course everyone has to discover every artist for themselves, whether it's the Beatles or Mott the Hoople or Tom Waits or The Band and to every 15 year old out there, those bands are going to blow their minds. And you have to keep that mind open, because there's a lot more wonderful music out there than you can possibly imagine, no matter how wide-ranging your tastes are (wait til you hear the gentle, sexy songs of Mississippi John Hurt or listen, really listen to Ray Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western) and no matter how much you listen to. And sometimes great music is staring you right in the face and you don't even know it until you stop thinking you know it all. And just listen.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
The IRA Awards 2006: The Full Story
BEST PICTURE:
Mysterious Skin -- 33 points
A History of Violence -- 20 points
2046 -- 18 points
The Aristocrats -- 12 points
Brokeback Mountain -- 11 points
(At this point, it was obvious Mysterious Skin was going to triumph. When four or five people band together, they can invariably push through almost any movie unless everyone else is vehemently opposed AND willing to support the same alternate film. This year's IRA voters, by the way, totaled 12 people.)
BEST DIRECTOR
Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin -- 34
Werner Herzog for Grizzly Man, White Diamond and The Wheel of Time -- 24
David Cronenberg for A History of Violence -- 22
Bennett Miller for Capote -- 11
Wong Kar-Wai -- 8
(Again, support for Mysterious Skin was so broad, there was little call for debating this victory. But Herzog is a great runner-up: three documentaries out in one year, two of which are very good indeed.)
BEST ACTOR:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Mysterious Skin -- 38 points
Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (but not Casanova or The Brothers Grimm)-- 24
David Strathairn for Good Night and Good Luck -- 15
tie: Damien Lewis for Keane/ Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote -- 13
(Gordon-Levit won with the highest point total of the evening. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that the IRA voters -- invariably suspicious of Oscar approval -- hadn't turned against Brokeback Mountain. I argued that Jake Gyllenhaal had the more difficult role and that Ledger had the "easy" opportunity to act up a storm with his mumbling and fighting and anger. Ed (a frequent Popsurfer) said I was crazy and that Ledger was brilliant and many others agreed. The real dismissiveness was saved for Hoffman: he didn't capture Capote's charm, he was showboating, he was gimmicky. No grandstanding from actors at the IRAs thank you.
BEST ACTRESS
Maria Bello for A History of Violence -- 28
Felicity Huffman for Transamerica -- 18
Dina Korzun for Forty Shades of Blue -- 16
tie: Emily Blunt for My Summer of Love/Sibel Kekilli for Head-On -- 13
(Was Maria Bello a "crotch" vote (the charming IRA term for an actor who a voter finds appealing)? Perhaps, but her supporters also said it was the first good work she's ever done. Huffman was the most controversial of the nominees, though her supporters were adamant, even if the film was not up to the standards of her acting. Blunt played the wealthy girl in My Summer Of Love. Co-star Nathalie Press also had strong support. If voters could have decided who was the lead and who was supporting, the movie could have scored more victories. The real problem? Press was the lead but Blunt was sexier. Similar problems bedeviled The Squid and the Whale. Was Jeff Daniels the lead or Jesse Eisenberg? If Eisenberg was a supporting actor, others preferred Owen Kline. The result? No victories.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Frank Langella for Good Night and Good Luck -- 14 RESCINDED!
Clifton Collins Jr. for Capote -- 13 RESCINDED!
Paddy Considine for My Summer Of Love -- 11 WINNER!
tie: George Clooney for Syriana and GNAGL/ Ray Wise for GNAGL -- 9
(The most dramatic voting of the evening. Frank Langella scored the most points, but his total was so low you can tell that support was widely scattered. I thought Langella was fine, but if I was going to single out a supporting actor from that movie it would have been Ray Wise (the sad-sack anchorman). I also thought Collins Jr (the prisoner Perry in Capote) was better than I remembered on a second viewing of the movie. But I really had my eye on Considine, who was great in My Summer of Love (not to mention that director's even better first film Last Resort). Besides, Langella had the aura of too much of a traditional, obvious choice for the IRAs and we'd just put Keener into the winner's circle -- voting begins with Costumes and works its way up) so I gambled that people were in the mood to shake things up. Besides, even if Considine got rescinded, it would mean a victory for Wise and Clooney, which I'd be happy about anyway. And as you can see, a RESCIND for Langella was quickly followed by a RESCIND for Collins and my man Considine was the victor. Hurrah! Voting was so tense I screwed up my stunt balloting -- a vote for someone so unexpected but appropriate or clever that it garners widespread support or at least laughter. My first IRA victory at this unacknowledged competition was nominating Leni Riefenstahl for Best Actress for the interviews she gave in a documentary about her life. First, I nominated Gromit of Wallace & Gromit but was immediately belittled since the dog clearly belonged in the Best Actor category. That threw me off my game and kept me from nominating the very worthy Wilson from the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom -- that kid had more star power and magnetism when he got on the dance floor than almost any other actor of the year.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Catherine Keener for Capote, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and The Ballad of Jack and Rose (but not The Interpreter) -- 32
Sarah Silverman for The Aristocrats -- 15
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Happy Endings -- 14
Zhang Ziyi for 2046 -- 13
Amy Adams for Junebug -- 12
(Clearly support was broad for Keener -- only Bello had a larger margin of victory. And I was thrilled since she was terrific and had a career year. But it did seem rather conventional for the IRAs. Sarah Silverman in a documentary would have been more typical of the IRAs style. But she had some vehement detractors who despised her concert film Jesus Is Magic as self-indulgent and excruciating. Many hadn't seen Gyllenhaal in Happy Endings, though everyone that did singled her out. And Amy Adams had hearty detractors as well, mostly from the strong minority that despised Junebug. (Hating a movie with passion is even more admired at the IRAs than loving a movie with passion.) Only Zhang came close to widespread admiration. But Keener's victory set me up for victory in the Supporting Actor category, so my misgivings over the obviousness of it turned into a win-win.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin -- 36
Noah Bambauch for The Squid and the Whale -- 20
George Clooney, Grant Heslov (and Edward R. Murrow) for GNAGL -- 16
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for Brokeback Mountain -- 12
Dan Futterman for Capote -- 9
(Here is where the bandwagon for Mysterious Skin got a'rolling. I was happy to see The Squid and the Whale get recognized at least here: confusion over the ensemble cast and who belonged in what category kept it from even scoring a runner-up position anywhere else.)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit for GNAGL and Syriana -- 25
Christopher Doyle, Pung-Leung Kwan, and Yiu-Fai Lai for 2046 -- 24
Steve Gainer for Mysterious Skin -- 20
tie: Adam Kimmel for Capote/ Taishi Kirokawa for Tony Takitani -- 13
(Tech awards are often much more scattered, so no surprise that Elswit squeaked out a victory by one vote. Tony Takitani made an appearance, but not enough people saw it to give the film any momentum.)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
William Chang for 2046 -- 23
James D. Bissel for GNAGL -- 19
Nathan Crowley for Batman Begins -- 18
uncredited, but probably goes to Frank Miller for Sin City -- 14
Jess Gonchor for Capote -- 12
(No big arguments here: 2046 was one of the most sumptuous looking movies since In The Mood For Love. This was the first hint that GNAGL had solid IRA support. I was especially pleased that the innovative Sin City got a nod and especially annoyed that Batman Begins did too. Yes, it's the best Batman movie so far, but the Batmobile was absurd and the Batcave not much better.)
BEST SCORE
Howard Shore for A History of Violence -- 22
Mulatu Astatke for Broken Flowers -- 21
Richard Thompson for Grizzly Man -- 15
Ryuichi Sakamoto for Tony Takitani -- 12
Alberto Igelsias for The Constant Gardener -- 11
(The scene of my bitterest disappointment. I'm a major fan of Richard Thompson (start with Shoot Out The Lights and thank me later) and I had visions of him garnering an IRA award as the highlight of the evening. Everyone who voted for him gave the score the maximum number of points -- 5 -- but it wasn't to be. What made it more annoying was that the winner was Howard Shore for Violence. I'd seen the film twice, appreciated its technical achievements even more the second time, but never noted the score as more than serviceable. (I know, sometimes a score shouldn't be noticed, but when you own 300+ soundtracks, you tend to notice whether they want you to or not.) I also made the futile gesture of suggesting we change the category to Best Use Of Music, since a movie like Broken Flowers is being recognized for its canny use of classic tunes by The Ethiopiques, not for its original score. No, they argued, using a pop song is not "creative" the way creating an original score is creative. What about 2001: A Space Odyssey, I argued. One of the greatest merges of image and music in film history and you don't think that's creative? Shut up, they said. The IRAs ain't pretty.)
BEST COSTUMES
William Chang for 2046 -- 32
Danny Glicker for Transamerica -- 18
Alix hester for Mysterious Skin -- 16
Kasia Walicka Maimone for Capote -- 14
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh for Breakfast On Pluto -- 13
(Who can argue with gorgeous costumes worn by the most beautful women in the world? No one.)
DRAMAMINE
Crash (by acclamation)
SOMINEX
Saraband -- 15
9 Songs -- 10
Downfall -- 8
March of the Penguins -- 5
(I argued that Downfall was too noisy to be a Sominex winner, but they said it was so rote, a few bombings weren't gonna keep them awake.)
MECHANICAL ACTOR
Tom Cruise for War of the Worlds and his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show but not for his appearance on The Today Show -- 17
Anthony Hopkins for Proof and The World's Fastest Indian -- 13
Steve Martin for Shopgirl -- 9
(I campaigned for making an exception for Cruise's appearance opposite Matt Lauer on The Today Show since that was one of tne most riveting scenes of the year. If Hopkins had won, he probably would have been placed into the Mechanical Actors Hall of Fame and thus been ineligible down the road. You can't keep honoring the same people year after year.)
MECHANICAL ACTRESS
Dakota Fanning for War of the Worlds, Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story, and Hide and Seek -- 20
tie: Jane Fonda for Monster-In-Law/ Sarah Jessica Parker for The Family Stone -- 10
Scarlett Johansson for Match Point -- 9
three-way tie: Katie Holmes for Batman Begins/ Sandra Bullock for Crash and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous/ Alison Lohman for Where The Truth Lies -- 8
(If I repeated the cruel, nasty things that were said about Fanning, it would make The Aristocrats sound like a Disney movie. Besides, I actually think she's talented. Jane Fonda was pilloried for waiting 25 years to return in a Jennifer Lopez vehicle, though some also claimed she was always talentless, which is absurd. And Sandra Bullock came the closest to Fanning by inspiring venom for her poorly written role in Crash.)
And another IRAs comes to a close.
Mysterious Skin -- 33 points
A History of Violence -- 20 points
2046 -- 18 points
The Aristocrats -- 12 points
Brokeback Mountain -- 11 points
(At this point, it was obvious Mysterious Skin was going to triumph. When four or five people band together, they can invariably push through almost any movie unless everyone else is vehemently opposed AND willing to support the same alternate film. This year's IRA voters, by the way, totaled 12 people.)
BEST DIRECTOR
Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin -- 34
Werner Herzog for Grizzly Man, White Diamond and The Wheel of Time -- 24
David Cronenberg for A History of Violence -- 22
Bennett Miller for Capote -- 11
Wong Kar-Wai -- 8
(Again, support for Mysterious Skin was so broad, there was little call for debating this victory. But Herzog is a great runner-up: three documentaries out in one year, two of which are very good indeed.)
BEST ACTOR:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Mysterious Skin -- 38 points
Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (but not Casanova or The Brothers Grimm)-- 24
David Strathairn for Good Night and Good Luck -- 15
tie: Damien Lewis for Keane/ Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote -- 13
(Gordon-Levit won with the highest point total of the evening. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that the IRA voters -- invariably suspicious of Oscar approval -- hadn't turned against Brokeback Mountain. I argued that Jake Gyllenhaal had the more difficult role and that Ledger had the "easy" opportunity to act up a storm with his mumbling and fighting and anger. Ed (a frequent Popsurfer) said I was crazy and that Ledger was brilliant and many others agreed. The real dismissiveness was saved for Hoffman: he didn't capture Capote's charm, he was showboating, he was gimmicky. No grandstanding from actors at the IRAs thank you.
BEST ACTRESS
Maria Bello for A History of Violence -- 28
Felicity Huffman for Transamerica -- 18
Dina Korzun for Forty Shades of Blue -- 16
tie: Emily Blunt for My Summer of Love/Sibel Kekilli for Head-On -- 13
(Was Maria Bello a "crotch" vote (the charming IRA term for an actor who a voter finds appealing)? Perhaps, but her supporters also said it was the first good work she's ever done. Huffman was the most controversial of the nominees, though her supporters were adamant, even if the film was not up to the standards of her acting. Blunt played the wealthy girl in My Summer Of Love. Co-star Nathalie Press also had strong support. If voters could have decided who was the lead and who was supporting, the movie could have scored more victories. The real problem? Press was the lead but Blunt was sexier. Similar problems bedeviled The Squid and the Whale. Was Jeff Daniels the lead or Jesse Eisenberg? If Eisenberg was a supporting actor, others preferred Owen Kline. The result? No victories.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Frank Langella for Good Night and Good Luck -- 14 RESCINDED!
Clifton Collins Jr. for Capote -- 13 RESCINDED!
Paddy Considine for My Summer Of Love -- 11 WINNER!
tie: George Clooney for Syriana and GNAGL/ Ray Wise for GNAGL -- 9
(The most dramatic voting of the evening. Frank Langella scored the most points, but his total was so low you can tell that support was widely scattered. I thought Langella was fine, but if I was going to single out a supporting actor from that movie it would have been Ray Wise (the sad-sack anchorman). I also thought Collins Jr (the prisoner Perry in Capote) was better than I remembered on a second viewing of the movie. But I really had my eye on Considine, who was great in My Summer of Love (not to mention that director's even better first film Last Resort). Besides, Langella had the aura of too much of a traditional, obvious choice for the IRAs and we'd just put Keener into the winner's circle -- voting begins with Costumes and works its way up) so I gambled that people were in the mood to shake things up. Besides, even if Considine got rescinded, it would mean a victory for Wise and Clooney, which I'd be happy about anyway. And as you can see, a RESCIND for Langella was quickly followed by a RESCIND for Collins and my man Considine was the victor. Hurrah! Voting was so tense I screwed up my stunt balloting -- a vote for someone so unexpected but appropriate or clever that it garners widespread support or at least laughter. My first IRA victory at this unacknowledged competition was nominating Leni Riefenstahl for Best Actress for the interviews she gave in a documentary about her life. First, I nominated Gromit of Wallace & Gromit but was immediately belittled since the dog clearly belonged in the Best Actor category. That threw me off my game and kept me from nominating the very worthy Wilson from the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom -- that kid had more star power and magnetism when he got on the dance floor than almost any other actor of the year.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Catherine Keener for Capote, The 40 Year Old Virgin, and The Ballad of Jack and Rose (but not The Interpreter) -- 32
Sarah Silverman for The Aristocrats -- 15
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Happy Endings -- 14
Zhang Ziyi for 2046 -- 13
Amy Adams for Junebug -- 12
(Clearly support was broad for Keener -- only Bello had a larger margin of victory. And I was thrilled since she was terrific and had a career year. But it did seem rather conventional for the IRAs. Sarah Silverman in a documentary would have been more typical of the IRAs style. But she had some vehement detractors who despised her concert film Jesus Is Magic as self-indulgent and excruciating. Many hadn't seen Gyllenhaal in Happy Endings, though everyone that did singled her out. And Amy Adams had hearty detractors as well, mostly from the strong minority that despised Junebug. (Hating a movie with passion is even more admired at the IRAs than loving a movie with passion.) Only Zhang came close to widespread admiration. But Keener's victory set me up for victory in the Supporting Actor category, so my misgivings over the obviousness of it turned into a win-win.
BEST SCREENPLAY
Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin -- 36
Noah Bambauch for The Squid and the Whale -- 20
George Clooney, Grant Heslov (and Edward R. Murrow) for GNAGL -- 16
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for Brokeback Mountain -- 12
Dan Futterman for Capote -- 9
(Here is where the bandwagon for Mysterious Skin got a'rolling. I was happy to see The Squid and the Whale get recognized at least here: confusion over the ensemble cast and who belonged in what category kept it from even scoring a runner-up position anywhere else.)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Elswit for GNAGL and Syriana -- 25
Christopher Doyle, Pung-Leung Kwan, and Yiu-Fai Lai for 2046 -- 24
Steve Gainer for Mysterious Skin -- 20
tie: Adam Kimmel for Capote/ Taishi Kirokawa for Tony Takitani -- 13
(Tech awards are often much more scattered, so no surprise that Elswit squeaked out a victory by one vote. Tony Takitani made an appearance, but not enough people saw it to give the film any momentum.)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
William Chang for 2046 -- 23
James D. Bissel for GNAGL -- 19
Nathan Crowley for Batman Begins -- 18
uncredited, but probably goes to Frank Miller for Sin City -- 14
Jess Gonchor for Capote -- 12
(No big arguments here: 2046 was one of the most sumptuous looking movies since In The Mood For Love. This was the first hint that GNAGL had solid IRA support. I was especially pleased that the innovative Sin City got a nod and especially annoyed that Batman Begins did too. Yes, it's the best Batman movie so far, but the Batmobile was absurd and the Batcave not much better.)
BEST SCORE
Howard Shore for A History of Violence -- 22
Mulatu Astatke for Broken Flowers -- 21
Richard Thompson for Grizzly Man -- 15
Ryuichi Sakamoto for Tony Takitani -- 12
Alberto Igelsias for The Constant Gardener -- 11
(The scene of my bitterest disappointment. I'm a major fan of Richard Thompson (start with Shoot Out The Lights and thank me later) and I had visions of him garnering an IRA award as the highlight of the evening. Everyone who voted for him gave the score the maximum number of points -- 5 -- but it wasn't to be. What made it more annoying was that the winner was Howard Shore for Violence. I'd seen the film twice, appreciated its technical achievements even more the second time, but never noted the score as more than serviceable. (I know, sometimes a score shouldn't be noticed, but when you own 300+ soundtracks, you tend to notice whether they want you to or not.) I also made the futile gesture of suggesting we change the category to Best Use Of Music, since a movie like Broken Flowers is being recognized for its canny use of classic tunes by The Ethiopiques, not for its original score. No, they argued, using a pop song is not "creative" the way creating an original score is creative. What about 2001: A Space Odyssey, I argued. One of the greatest merges of image and music in film history and you don't think that's creative? Shut up, they said. The IRAs ain't pretty.)
BEST COSTUMES
William Chang for 2046 -- 32
Danny Glicker for Transamerica -- 18
Alix hester for Mysterious Skin -- 16
Kasia Walicka Maimone for Capote -- 14
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh for Breakfast On Pluto -- 13
(Who can argue with gorgeous costumes worn by the most beautful women in the world? No one.)
DRAMAMINE
Crash (by acclamation)
SOMINEX
Saraband -- 15
9 Songs -- 10
Downfall -- 8
March of the Penguins -- 5
(I argued that Downfall was too noisy to be a Sominex winner, but they said it was so rote, a few bombings weren't gonna keep them awake.)
MECHANICAL ACTOR
Tom Cruise for War of the Worlds and his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show but not for his appearance on The Today Show -- 17
Anthony Hopkins for Proof and The World's Fastest Indian -- 13
Steve Martin for Shopgirl -- 9
(I campaigned for making an exception for Cruise's appearance opposite Matt Lauer on The Today Show since that was one of tne most riveting scenes of the year. If Hopkins had won, he probably would have been placed into the Mechanical Actors Hall of Fame and thus been ineligible down the road. You can't keep honoring the same people year after year.)
MECHANICAL ACTRESS
Dakota Fanning for War of the Worlds, Dreamer: Inspired By A True Story, and Hide and Seek -- 20
tie: Jane Fonda for Monster-In-Law/ Sarah Jessica Parker for The Family Stone -- 10
Scarlett Johansson for Match Point -- 9
three-way tie: Katie Holmes for Batman Begins/ Sandra Bullock for Crash and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous/ Alison Lohman for Where The Truth Lies -- 8
(If I repeated the cruel, nasty things that were said about Fanning, it would make The Aristocrats sound like a Disney movie. Besides, I actually think she's talented. Jane Fonda was pilloried for waiting 25 years to return in a Jennifer Lopez vehicle, though some also claimed she was always talentless, which is absurd. And Sandra Bullock came the closest to Fanning by inspiring venom for her poorly written role in Crash.)
And another IRAs comes to a close.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
