Thanks to everyone who came out for the premiere episode of the /Filmcast, our new weekly podcast on slashfilm.com. I would like to thank everyone who was on the air: David Chen, Devindra Hardawar, and Adam Quigley, Dave3 from Geeks of Doom, and Neil Miller from Film School Rejects. The show will be available for download sometime tomorrow. Please leave comments below telling us what you thought. What did you love? What did you not like? We promise next week’s broadcast will be shorter, and we already have plans to have better control over the chat room.
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Director Sydney Pollack passed away today due to cancer at his home in Los Angeles. He was 73.
Notable films as a director: They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (nominated: Best Director 1970), Tootsie (nominated: Best Director/Best Picture 1982), Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were, The Yakuza, The Firm, Jeremiah Johnson, Out of Africa (Winner: Best Director/Best Picture 1986)
As a producer: Recount, The Quiet American, Forty Shades of Blue, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Searching For Bobby Fischer (!), King Ralph (!!), Sense and Sensibility
Pollack was recently praised for his supporting performance in the Best Picture nominee Michael Clayton. He also appeared on The Sopranos in a small but highly memorable and resonant role. His producing partner and fellow director , Anthony Minghella, passed in March, aged 54.
If you want to take a look back via Netflix, I’d recommend They Shoot Horses…, Condor, Tootsie and Jeremiah Johnson in that order. As an actor, Tootsie, Husbands and Wives, Eyes Wide Shut, and Clayton. To people under 25, Pollack served as a fine representation/presence of a Hollywood long past, where smart films for adults were a priority (imagine that, even if you’re not a film snob!) and where franchises and event films didn’t yet have a deathgrip on the market.
Casual moviegoers responded to his voice and mannerisms on screen—you knew this guy, he seemed smarter than most—and as you watched, or at least as I watched, what came across was that Pollack cut through the modern day industry bullshit and greed, and man, he fucking knew it. Some of his films like The Yakuza still seem a little over-fawned upon, but he’s a prime example of a talented cineaste who didn’t sell out and who aged with grace, eyes open.
I’d hate to get a raised eyebrow from the man, is all I’m sayin’. When I think of a respectable film director, Pollack’s voice and face often pops up (yes, those “do not interrupt” commercials help). I wonder and, have wondered at times, who the hell will be there to take Pollack and his peers’ place. That’s usually when a walking-talking mega cup of soda bursts through the door to say “hi.” Sydney Pollack will be missed, but his work and reputation will also be discovered for generations. You can say his name in any film class that is nearly worth the cost, and a certain communal respect will hit.
R.I.P.
Discuss: How will he be remembered by you?
“Meh, believe it.”
Let’s go to the tape from Cannes! Shortly after a giggly French interviewer hands him a video camera and requests to “directed,” Quentin Tarantino is asked what his next film will be. Will it be Kill Bill 3? Kill Bill 4 (those silly Frenchies!) No, he says, it will be Inglorious Bastards…coming to Cannes in 2009?!?
“Oh, yeah, no. The next movie I’m doing is my WWII movie Inglorious Bastards. I actually just finished the first draft of the script and when I go home I’ll be finishing it up…and if all goes well [pregnant pause] I will be here 2009 at Cannes with my war film INGLORIOUS BASTARDS!!! [applause].”
So, yeah, this is an official announcement of sorts from QT, not a misquote. He’s being translated, but you can hear his words verbatim underneath. Now, is it humanly possible to make an epic WWII movie without an official cast from a script that still needs polishing, and, um, without all that mandatory WWII stuff and deliver it by this time next year? [crickets]
But over on Twitter, the consensus is “asshat.” Peter even calls the man a “compulsive liar.” But, um, dudes and ladies, Quentin Tarantino is writing/directing an R-rated war film that will kick your our asses and it finally sounds like he’s revved up, if obeying an alien calendar. If you’re going to keep him in your mental Gimp box, at least throw some confetti on top. I’m looking forward to it, and by “it” I mean Chinese Democracy.
Discuss: How pumped are you for Inglorious Bastards in 2012?
IESB got a couple shots of Sienna Miller in costume as the bloodied Baroness in Stephen Sommer’s live-action GI Joe movie. Taken on the streets of Prague, where G.I. Joe is currently filming, these photos feature Sienna Miller in skin tight black leather toting a big gun. The Baroness serves as the COBRA Organization’s intelligence officer and lieutenant to Cobra Commander. In both comic and cartoon incarnations, the ruthless femme fatale has had romantic relationships with Destro. G.I. Joe hits theaters on August 7th 2009.
Earlier this month, we reported on the possibility of a new HBO show based on 2006′s engrossing hit documentary, Cocaine Cowboys, from uber players Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer. Today, Slashfilm gives you an exclusive review of the script for Cocaine Cowboys‘ pilot episode written by Billy Corben and David Cypkin of Rakontur, the Miami-based production company behind the doc and its sequel (set for release this July). For legal reasons, we’ve omitted specific plot details in the review.
Being familiar with Rakontur’s M.O. and work from my time on Miami Beach, I had previously tagged their HBO show pitch as “the antithesis of Miami Vice.” So, it was no surprise to see the opening credits in the script described as such. Verbatim. But while the show’s oddly subdued credits might fit this “antithesis” (old farts playing shuffleboard, an idyllic underdeveloped Miami Beach circa ’79) , the pilot is not as leery of Don Johnson’s white blazers and Michael Mann’s kooky multiculti derelicts and crabs as I surmised. Recall that the first season of Miami Vice didn’t drip with Art Deco camp under Mann’s watch: the action exuded unprecedented cinematic flash and all of Miami was game, not just Miami Beach beauty. New York City figured into Vice‘s early storyline, as it does here. Everything in Cocaine Cowboys is similarly bigger-than-life but far seedier.
Cowboys‘ opening scenes–a hasty drug deal at sea set aboard a 150-foot vessel that’s quietly sinking under the careless supervision of incredibly stoned, hard partying Rasta thugs–conjures the same crotch-grabbing gusto and hyper-imagery on display in Mr. Bay’s Bad Boys II. The similarity is blatant, even. We’re talking requisite Miami bimbos jumping off a nearby sailboat after its comically set ablaze by a flare fired by an addled rudeboy named Chicken. Think swooping Bay-mentored aerial views of hot-boobs-overboard. Will HBO execs desire this sort of acronym? After reading the script a few times, I’d bet that the sought-after demographics would get sucked in quickly…and cocaine use would probably get a nice boost nationwide. Note: nothing in the script came off like Billy Walsh’s Medellin– thankfully–but Billy Walsh would definitely set his DVR.
Continue reading the script review of the Cocaine Cowboys pilot for HBO after the jump…
Discuss: Would you like to see a new HBO show from Bay, Bruckheimer and Rakontur about the ’80s cocaine trade and culture in Miami, Florida?
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Yes, the rumors are true – We’ve decided to launch a weekly movie podcast called the /Filmcast. I’ve hired the best of the best to helm this new weekly show – hardcore geeks/bloggers/journalists David Chen, Devindra Hardawar, and Adam Quigley (formerly of The Watchers podcast) will debate, pontificate, and delve into the latest films, film news, television shows, and entertainment-related items from the past week every Monday Night LIVE on SlashFilm.com. They will be joined each week bloggers, webmaster luminaries, movie stars and filmmakers from all walks of life. I’ll also be on the show from time to time to add my own two cents.
So please join us live tonight for Episode #1 where our hosts will be joined by Dave3 from The Geeks of Doom and Peter Sciretta from /Film (wait, did I just refer to myself in third person?) to talk about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The show begins at 10:00pm Eastern time / 7:00pm Pacific time, right here on slashfilm.com.
It’s that special time everyone: the return of the Slashfilm Muxtape! I’ve compiled another well-tested selection of anthems from (or inspired by) choice movies. This time the summer soundtrack theme is: coming in from the pool/beach with wet trunks, quickly checking your email (no Blackberries), enjoying a beer in the shower and watching half a Shane Black flick on the late night. Cheers to the many readers who friended us last go around, we appreciate it. As always, if you want more summer tunes, you can check out my personal Muxtape, “Stay Out of the Lake F*cks,” here.
CLICK HERE TO HEAR SLASHFILM’s MUXTAPE: THE BIGGER, BADDER SEQUEL
Discuss: Like it or hate it? Any requests for the third mux? It’s going to be bloated and have at least three villains (mall rappers) and four love interests (winehouse).Â
For the sake of archiving/downloading, we’ve included the current tracklisting and the tracklisting from our first Muxtape after the jump…
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The Pitch: In previous Video Of The Days, we’ve featured FunnyOrDie’s continuing series “Acting with James Franco”. In Acting with James Franco Episode 3: Scene Work, James Franco and his brother Dave do a scene from “Rebel Without a Cause.”
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Video of the Day is a daily feature of /Film showcasing geekarific video creations. Have a video we should be feature on VOTD? E-Mail us at orfilms@gmail.com.
