| Posted by Lou | The time is 9.10pm here in London UK |


The best movie you saw during the last year


I saw a lot of excellent films in the past 12 months, with the two stand-outs being Animal Kingdom and Inception.

I was thinking "gosh, I raved about them at the time so there's nothing to say"... but it seems I just gave Animal Kingdom a one-liner, and didn't review Inception at all. Go figure!

Mind blown.

The films are in some ways complete opposites - the small indie film from Australia that viscerally captures a criminal underworld, and the mega-blockbuster from Hollywood that takes a surreal action-journey through layers of dreams.

In common are superb writer-directors who have crafted scripts that engage then directed them beautifully, and top-notch casts that give brilliant individual performances as well as having rare group chemistry.

Panic risen.

Both are films I will cherish and watch again and again.


In the interests of gender equality, I'm also going to give a Special Mention to Black Swan. I thought I would hate it - fantasy and surrealism I can give or take, depending on whether something about it feels real.

Instead I loved it for the layer upon layer of theme and genre, parcelled up in such beautiful art direction, and grounded in what for me was a very real and under-represented story in Hollywood (the punishing result of the female search for physical perfection - Hollywood's speciality!).

Vomit tasted.

However, apart from this one film it was again a year bereft of great female characters. (Also bereft of great non-white characters.) I shake my fist at you Hollywood!

| Posted by Lou | The time is 9.15pm here in London UK |


Bel's all like "do you want to do this?" and I'm all like "hells yeah!" so here we go.

Credit where credit is due... except when Bel's forgotten where she got it from. But to whoever you are, thanks! (Hope you don't mind that we changed the lingo. (I mean seriously, who says "movie"?))

1. The best film you saw during the last year
2. The most underrated film
3. A film that makes you really happy
4. A film that makes you sad
5. Favourite love story in a film
6. Favourite made for TV film
7. The most surprising plot twist or ending
8. A film that you’ve seen countless times
9. A film with the best soundtrack
10. Favourite classic film
11. A film that changed your opinion about something
12. A film that you hate
13. A film that is a guilty pleasure
14. A film that no one would expect you to love
15. A character who you can relate to the most
16. A film that you used to love but now hate
17. A film that disappointed you the most
18. A film that you wish more people would’ve seen
19. Favourite film based on a book/comic/etc.
20. Favourite film from your favourite actor/actress
21. Favourite action film
22. Favourite documentary
23. Favourite animation
24. That one awesome film idea that still hasn’t been done yet
25. The most hilarious film you’ve ever seen
26. A film that you love but everyone else hates
27. A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
28. Favourite film from your favourite director
29. A film from your childhood
30. Your favourite film of all time

[ETA: Hi, Bel here - just saying if you wanna jump on the bandwagon too, please do! Leave us a link in the comments so we can read about your film loves and hates.]

| Posted by Lou | The time is 5.32pm here in London UK |

I previously discussed my dislike [insert thumb-down button here] of Peter Travers' comments on The Social Network, and my like [thumb-up!] of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's response to him.

Travers actually wrote an open letter response to Gordon-Levitt in which he says:

What's "defining" about The Social Network is the way it shows a generation losing touch with its humanity. The satire in Sorkin's script isn't aimed at what you call the "cool kids," the "creative, non-narcissistic" users of the Internet who don't use "friend" as a verb. They are in the minority. Who's the majority? Go to any multiplex to see a movie — I just came back from Sundance — and you'll see a lightshow of iPhones and Blackberrys at every performance. Not before or after the movie, but during. The guy next to me (from your generation) was checking his e-mail and updating his Facebook status. No apology. No shame. He just shot me a look. Like I wasn't there. Like the audience wasn't there. Like it was just him and a glowing screen.

Overall I find the response to be without substance or merit - arseholes who use their iPhones and Blackberries in cinemas have always been arseholes and always will be arseholes - and barely gave it a second thought. But then 22nd February 2011 happened. And I couldn't help but think of this idea that Facebook is endemic of a generation losing their humanity.

The Earthquake hit, the mobile phone system imploded, and everybody in New Zealand and New Zealanders around the world were left wondering if the multiple people they knew in Christchurch were okay. (Not to forget the people less familiar with New Zealand geography just wondering if their Kiwi friends were okay.)

How did we find out? Through Facebook.

(My sister rang my mum and told her that my aunt, uncle and cousin were okay. Mum was perplexed and asked how she knew. "[cousin] posted it on Facebook". (Mum is always perplexed that the Facebooking members of our extended family always know everything first.))

How did I tell my many international friends messaging/ emailing/ texting to see if I was okay that I was in fact okay? Through Facebook.

How did people pass on the immediate and urgent message that mobile phones were not to be used in order to keep the system open for emergencies? Through Facebook.

How did an army of thousands - thousands - of student volunteers come together to create an invaluable work-force? Through Facebook.

How did people provide and find information on who and how to donate towards earthquake relief? Through Facebook.

So forgive me if for a second time I'm accusing you of talking shit Peter Travers, but every time I hear someone say that Facebook is making people "inhumane" I'm going to think of those few days in February where it became an oasis of humanity in the face of great tragedy for New Zealand.

| Posted by Lou | The time is 12.19pm here in Christchurch, NZ |

I was about to blog my complete disagreement that The Social Network "defines a generation". This theory was put forward by Rolling Stone's film reviewer Peter Travers, and then widely repeated by other media.

However, it seems that the generation has already reacted, with bloggers including [star of the film I actually think was the best of the year] Joseph Gordon-Levitt pointing out the untruth and limited nature of this claim.

I particularly enjoy his final comments, which manages to ably and humbly put the fuddy-duddies in their place:

So who’s gonna make the movie about us? I don’t know, but if I had to guess, it’ll be some group of kids who’ve never physically met, living in all different places, all far from Hollywood, trading ideas, uploading videos, and working together via one or another social network.

This brings me to the key thing that has fucked me off about this whole thing: I have not seen, read or heard one single person of my generation rave about The Social Network as really connecting with what it is like to be us. This seems to be a case of an older generation attempting to define our own... which to me says more about them than it does about us.

I would go further to say that I think the film is gathering so much acclaim and so many awards from older generations because it is a reasonably traditional "boy gets rich" story told in a reasonably familar way. This does not speak to the cultural shift, explosion of narrative forms and storytelling means that really define what is going on with us youngsters. (I actually read a review that called the film "innovative" - wtf.)

But perhaps I found The Social Network to be a bit meh (well-made, yes - but engaging? No.) because I come from the half of the population entirely relegated to a pathetic non-role within its story (again, something which to me defines an older generation rather than my own!). This point forms Reason #5 of this film bloggers' rebuttal.

We know the Academy want to give Fincher an Oscar, but hopefully before they submit the ballot papers a few of the voters pause to reflect upon what the generation they're forcing this definition upon really think about "their" film.

| Posted by Lou | The time is 11.08am here in Invercargill NZ |

Well this year I've actually seen a fairly good whack of the Oscar Films, which in some ways is bad as it makes me feel more peeved at the snubs and the dumb nominations. Therefore rather than being just my choices, this is going to contain a lot of moaning about the filter through which the Academy is viewing the year in cinema.

Apologies that it's not Bel going first - she would have made it all nicely laid out with bullets and videos and stuff. I can't be arsed.

With apologies to the many technical practitioners I have deleted for the ease of reading my unformatted lists...

Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King's Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”

This is the biggest no-brainer of all time. Colin Firth is going to win. He deserves to win. (In fact, I thought he deserved to win last year too after I saw A Single Man.) In second place I would put James Franco, who was absolutely magnificent in 127 Hours.

What I'm peeved at is the snub of my third place getter, Ryan Gosling. He was fantastic in Blue Valentine, and is one of the few Hollywood stars who uses his charm and good looks to..... make small indie films by first-time filmmakers. This has been recognised before with his nomination for Half Nelson, but I really genuinely thought this one deserved a nod too (as Michelle Williams has gotten for it in the lady category).

So has anyone seen Biutiful? Has anyone heard of Biutiful? I'm not saying nominations should only go to films we have heard of, but with Javier having a previous Best Actor nomination for a little foreign-language film (hold the phone - I thought Javier had been (rightfully) nominated for the (heart-wrenching) film The Sea Inside, but it seems it was actually Before Night Falls (in 2001, when Russ won for Gladiator)... which I've never heard of, to be honest) and having picked up an Oscar two years ago for Best Supporting Actor in No Country For Old Men, perhaps he could get a rest? It smacks a little bit of favouritism.

Though incidentally, the BAFTAS have made the exact same choices in this category so perhaps I should shutthefuckup and stop being such a Ryan Lover?

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter's Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King's Speech”

This is a tough one - but I think Christian Bale will get it (for a film I can't bring myself to go see as it looks like one I'd roll my eyes through).

I just can't understand Mark Ruffalo's nomination. I like Mark Ruffalo, but actually thought his performance in this film (which I will moan about more later) was a bit shit.

Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter's Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”

Nicole Kidman?? Are you kidding??

I'm going for Natalie Portman and really hope she gets it as I fear they'll do their Hollywood mates thing and give it to Annette Bening undeservedly for a shite film.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King's Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”

This is a tough category - I'm sort of torn between thinking they'll give another to an actor from The Fighter, and thinking that Helena was amazing as "The Queen Mum - the early years", and thinking that it'd be cool to have a youngster win it out of nowhere (Hailee Steinfeld).

But as I have only seen one of these films I'm going to have to go for it and hope that after years and years and years of being in everybody consciousness as an Interesting Actor, Helena gets something to put on the mantlepiece to show for it. Plus surely the Americans would love to have the headline potential of "The King and Queen of the Oscars" etc?

Animated Feature Film

“How to Train Your Dragon” Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
“The Illusionist” Sylvain Chomet
“Toy Story 3” Lee Unkrich

One would think Toy Story 3 considering it has a Best Picture nomination. In fact, isn't this a bit silly as a category cross-over?

Art Direction

"Alice in Wonderland"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"True Grit"

Um... golly... I actually really loved the Production Design of The King's Speech, but I'm going to go for True Grit (unseen as of the time of writing) as I think it should get something, and it looked awesome in the preview.

You would think any awards for Harry Potter will wait until Part 2 has been unleashed on the world.

Cinematography

“Black Swan” Matthew Libatique
“Inception” Wally Pfister
“The King's Speech” Danny Cohen
“The Social Network” Jeff Cronenweth
“True Grit” Roger Deakins

Sight unseen, I'm going for Black Swan on this one.

Costume Design

“Alice in Wonderland” Colleen Atwood
“I Am Love” Antonella Cannarozzi
“The King's Speech” Jenny Beavan
“The Tempest” Sandy Powell
“True Grit” Mary Zophres

Is The Tempest out? I wanted to see that... Um, well, perhaps Alice? No idea really...

Directing

“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell
“The King's Speech” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” David Fincher
“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Where is Christopher Nolan?! Come on people, Inception was universally loved and acclaimed... Surely these people can look beyond the timing of film releases?? And how long is it since we had a blockbuster that was clever and well-made and so loved by all types of people?? Sheesh.

I fear that Fincher might get it even though The Social Network seems to have only been loved by a handful of critics and not by the people who it supposedly defines, but I'm going to put my money (and hope) on Hooper. If I can't have Nolan.

Hooper turned a film about speech therapy into an entertaining laugh-out-loud, cry-into-your-sleeve kind of film that people look forward to seeing (it is the first film in years I have rushed out to see on the opening day), so actually I think he deserves it. (Though not quite as much as Nolan does.)

Documentary (Feature)

“Exit through the Gift Shop” Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
“Gasland” Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
“Inside Job” Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
“Restrepo” Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
“Waste Land” Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

No idea whatsoever so in order to score some points with Bel I'm picking Banksy :) Plus Hollywood is so insecure they'll surely want to look cool by going for him? And create a little false intrigue as to who will collect it? (Well, obviously the primary filmmaker dude will, but you know...)

Documentary (Short Subject)

“Killing in the Name” Nominees to be determined
“Poster Girl” Nominees to be determined
“Strangers No More” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Sun Come Up” Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
“The Warriors of Qiugang” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Sharp eyes might figure out why I have randomly selected this one.

Film Editing

“Black Swan” Andrew Weisblum
“The Fighter” Pamela Martin
“The King's Speech” Tariq Anwar
“127 Hours” Jon Harris
“The Social Network” Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Oooooh tough one! Actually I would have gone for Inception, but again it has been snubbed. I'm going to do a bit of a left-fielder and go for 127 Hours as I thought the editing was one of the primary ingredients making it an entertaining and horrific film.

Foreign Language Film

“Biutiful” Mexico
“Dogtooth” Greece
“In a Better World” Denmark
“Incendies” Canada
“Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)” Algeria

I'm basing this purely on the Best Actor nom for Javier.

Makeup

“Barney's Version” Adrien Morot
“The Way Back” Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
“The Wolfman” Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

I've seen one of these so I'm picking it! Even though I don't really remember there being much to the make-up...

Music (Original Score)

“How to Train Your Dragon” John Powell
“Inception” Hans Zimmer
“The King's Speech” Alexandre Desplat
“127 Hours” A.R. Rahman
“The Social Network” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

I think I need to give something to The Social Network, so randomly this is going to be it.

Music (Original Song)

“Coming Home” from “Country Strong”
“I See the Light” from “Tangled”
“If I Rise” from “127 Hours”
“We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3"

Gotta love a Disney song - let's just hope it's the PS22 choirdoing the singing!

Best Picture

“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The Kids Are All Right”
“The King's Speech”
“127 Hours”
“The Social Network”
“Toy Story 3”
“True Grit”
“Winter's Bone"

I genuinely thought Inception was the Film of the Year. It was innovative, stunningly imagined, well acted, and had emotional punch alongside the massive workout for your cognitions. But it's not going to win. Which is a shame.

I hope - hope - it is The King's Speech because I really do not want The Social Network to take this title. It would just emphasise how up their own arses the Academy are and how much it is about the marketing. Do you know anyone who loved The Social Network? Who left the theatre saying "wow, that was really about us" ? No, you don't, because everyone kinda went: "Well, I guess it was fine - it was nicely shot and all... Justin Timberlake was quite good... um, yeah."

What the fuck is The Kids Are All Right doing here? It just a self-congratulation from the industry to the industry for being so gosh darned liberal as to have made a film about lesbian parenting. But heck we'll just ignore that the film isn't actually all that great, and that it shies away from depicting lesbian sex despite a keenness to portray heterosexual and gay-man sex in all its detail. High fives Annette and Julianne - you're straight but you played gay! But perhaps you could have, oh I don't know, gotten a bit more sexual with each other? You know that lesbians get it on, right?

Short Film (Animated)

“Day & Night” Teddy Newton
“The Gruffalo” Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
“Let's Pollute” Geefwee Boedoe
“The Lost Thing” Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
“Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)” Bastien Dubois

I nearly had a heart-attack seeing "Day & Night" and thinking it was the Tom Cruise film being nominated for something, shudder.

I have no idea obviously so am going to go with... the one named after a cartoon film that I recently watched and liked.

Short Film (Live Action)

“The Confession” Tanel Toom
“The Crush” Michael Creagh
“God of Love” Luke Matheny
“Na Wewe” Ivan Goldschmidt
“Wish 143” Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

???

Sound Editing

“Inception”
“Toy Story 3”
“Tron: Legacy”
“True Grit”
“Unstoppable”

Inception has gotta fucken win something.

Sound Mixing

“Inception”
“The King's Speech”
“Salt”
“The Social Network”
“True Grit”

Well it is about sound and all?

Visual Effects

“Alice in Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
“Hereafter”
“Inception”
“Iron Man 2”

Inception all the way.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

“127 Hours” Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
“The Social Network” Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
“Toy Story 3” Screenplay by Michael Arndt; Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
“True Grit” Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
“Winter's Bone” Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

(I can't bring myself to delete writers' names.)

This is a tough one, but I'm going to say The Winter's Bone as it sounds like it was bloody good and I really don't want them to go with the obvious choice.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

“Another Year” Written by Mike Leigh
“The Fighter” Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson;
Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
“Inception” Written by Christopher Nolan
“The Kids Are All Right” Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
“The King's Speech” Screenplay by David Seidler

Again, I think this should be Inception. I hope it's not The Kids Are All Right. I'm guessing The King's Speech.

| Posted by Bel | The time is 3.19pm here in Wellington NZ |

...but I have some urgent and troubling news I need to share.


[Yes, I started writing this yesterday and then got distracted and didn't post it, shut up.]

Besides, if you are truly dedicated to the awards season, you would have already checked the list on the official website and started a group email discussion AND SLASH OR organised for a dear friend to text you with updates on the announcement, if say, you were in Te Anau and unable to access a computer. For example!

So let's not talk now about how offensive it is that Christopher Nolan has been snubbed for a Best Director nomination or what joy you may feel that Sofia Coppola's film has been ignored, or whether Cher is a big baby for tweeting about how incomprehensible it is that her cinematic masterpiece Burlesque missed out on a Best Song nod.

Instead, let's focus on the fact that an Australian-born mother of two with an inclination towards hair straightening is WRECKING MY LIFE. (Not actually true.) Nicole Kidman is going to be playing Martha Gellhorn. Martha! Gellhorn! Yes, the very same woman I added to my Bona Fide Heroines List back in November year before last after reading her travel memoirs and reviewing them on here.

This article, which does Gellhorn the favour of presenting her as more than just 'the only woman who ever dared to ask Hemingway for a divorce', states that the production is an HBO TV movie, in the vein of the recent Grey Gardens, starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. Apparently James Gandolfini is producing it, which makes me feel some warm fuzzies, until I remember that that must mean he has OK-ed the casting.

Even the choice of Clive Owen as Ernest Hemingway has me scratching my head. At least he can act though - hopefully he'll be able to muster up some chemistry, in between knocking back the obligatory daiquiris.

| Posted by Bel | The time is 12.31pm here in Wellington NZ |

Dear Baz:

(I can call you 'Baz', right? I mean, um, I don't even know what to call you for long, so I'm gonna have to.)

I like you, Baz, I do. I have liked you for a long time. I saw your film Strictly Ballroom at the cinema when I was a wee girl of 10 years old and got told off immediately afterwards for attempting to flamenco dance in my bedroom, waking my younger brother up in the process.

When Romeo + Juliet was released, I was at a tender age. Nerdy enough to love the original text, teenagey enough to love the sexed-up modernisation. I bought the poster, I bought the CD soundtrack, I bought the other CD soundtrack. I put my hair in a deliberately nonchalant half-up style and wished more boys in my town wrote poetry in beautiful natural light on the beachfront (instead, they were more the menacing-cigarette-in-a-gas-station type).

In my first year of university, just as I was a public relations student realising that I was actually a film theory student, you unleashed Moulin Rouge. It was only 18 months since I had last been in Paris. You transported me back and you added a whirlwind of drama and glamour which included the most beautiful dress to bless the silver screen until that green frock in Atonement.

Then you made a film called Australia. I remember being aghast when I saw the trailer. I think I may've actually shuddered at that bit when Kidman's face, as smooth and luminescent as a traditionally iced wedding cake, peered down at the dark skinned child huddled in a hovel which managed to scream simultaneously "poverty!" and "fabulously decorated by the one and only Catherine Martin!".

I'd heard that you'd been working on operatic stage performances, Baz, a move which seemed both inspired and completely logical. I decided to ignore this cinematic misstep, much in the way we pretend that Guy Ritchie's Madonna film didn't happen, or how we must block out the fact that Elizabeth Moss is a grand ole crazy Scientologist and just focus on how wonderful and perfect she is as Peggy.

Last year there were rumours you had a new project on the boil. The Great Gatsby was going to be remade and you were the man to do it. I watched the film not so long ago and thought that its themes of the indolent upper classes and the slow rot of wealth were still timely - I could see Joseph Gordon Levitt making a great Nick Carraway (the narrator).

Next thing we heard, you'd cast our old friend Leo in the title role - a part made famous by Robert Redford, if not emblazoned in minds by the original F Scott Fitzgerald novel. Then the glorious news that it was to be Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan.

But now - I hesitate. Oh Baz. Just when it seemed that things were going so right, it all seems that things could go horribly, horribly wrong.

Baz, listen - honey.

Please don't do this.

Just don't.

Resist the urge.

I know how it is. You're away for the weekend, you're in Vegas, you're hanging out with Michael "Blow Shit Up" Mann and Oliver "Throw Money At It" Stone and you get a bit carried away. It happens!

You do things you wouldn't usually, you say things you don't mean. Nobody's going to hold you to it, sweetheart.

I always feel a bit woozy after wearing 3D glasses for a couple of hours. Was that it? Did you have to trial new fancy ones? Was James "More! More! MOOOOORE!" Cameron there? I can't imagine he'd be a good influence. Did something weird happen like that scene in The Hangover when Mike Tyson starts singing and you start thinking he's kind of funny and adorbs and forget he's actually a convicted rapist? Vegas is a crazy place, I hear.

Anyway, hopefully you're home now and have had a bit of time to think it through over a cool can of Fosters and have moved on from the whole folly.

If so, cheers! and good luck with the script and that whole shooting business. Let me know if you need any consultation on cloche hats (they're a personal fave).

If not, well.... *shakes fist*

Love, your fan,

Bel xxx

| Posted by Bel | The time is 10.22am here in Wellington NZ |

This looks meeeeean!

I am a fan of Jane Eyre, the book by Charlotte Bronte, and Jane Eyre, the character, having Lou compell me to read it. I'd read Wuthering Heights (written by Emily Bronte, Charlotte's sister) and filed it under "L" for lame and assumed Jane Eyre was more of the same. This was around the same time I made failed attempts to get into Austen, causing a near unrecoverable rift in our friendship.

The book is written in the first person and Jane becomes a friend that you rally alongside, even as you are aware of the fate that lies ahead. (Because SPOILER: a lot of this book's plot is already out there in popular culture and in people's blog headlines and so on.) It's a great story of being caught deciding between the nice guy and the bad boy and about kicking your way up from the bottom, even when no one is expecting that of you.

The film has a great team behind it (Sin Nombre meets Tamara Drewe? Um, yes please!) and, from the trailer, appears to be going with the angle that Jane is a smart wee upstart, rather than a swooning love interest.

So now we just have to wait til MARCH 2011 to see it! Man, and you thought that week until Harry Potter 7 was out was going to be bad!

| Posted by Lou | The time is 11.45 here in London UK |

I guess with no ability to post images I can stop avoiding the biggest disappointment I've caused myself in the last couple of years, which is my complete lack of follow-through on a promise I made myself 2 years ago.

There was a point in early-2008 where I decided I was not going to do anymore PA jobs as they're a big fat "go nowhere" for a woman in the commercial media organisations (and earn too little to bother in smaller ones). It lasted several months, but then I ran out of money...

I was filling in for someone when they mentioned that a new senior figure was joining the studios arm of the business, so I took it on for 6 weeks. And he and I got along well and he doesn't treat me like a secretary or a moron, and so I took the job long-term. (The money helped in this decision!)

But the compromise I made to myself was that I would get back into scriptwriting, so as to keep myself involved in film (whether literally or just psychologically). I promptly sat down and wrote the first half of a short film that has been running through my mind for years now.

And I haven't touched it since.

The variety of excuses include: I'll wait till I have my own place and can concentrate better (hmm nope no progress since moving into my new place); work is stressful - I'll wait till I can think more clearly (err no nothing changes with the waning tides of work stress); next time I have a free Sunday I'll get it out again (um nah, hasn't happened despite many a carefree Sunday); I'll wait till after summer/ Christmas/ Easter/ [whatever holiday]/ Birthday...

Basically I've just completely lost motivation and can't be fucked.

Now I'm facing potentially having to find a new job (again with the determination of not getting trapped into PA work), and realise what a difference it would make if I had a funded short film script under my belt.

Oh well, there's always my 30s...

Posted by Bel. The time is 2.58pm here in Wellington NZ

A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

The intimate art of filming a love scene

I love cinema. From The Philadelphia Story to Scott Pilgrim vs The World, you can count me in. Watching movies is my main leisure activity and I have a disturbingly encyclopedic retention of knowledge for filmmakers and their oeuvres.

Posted by Bel. The time is 2.34pm here in Wellington NZ

The Hollywood Reporter, um, reports that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has spent a "frantic" 24 hours searching for iconic French director, Jean-Luc Godard.

They have not yet been able to notify him that he has been awarded an honorary Oscar and I'm sure you all noticed, on account of how the world stopped turning and all.

MISSING! Merde.

They have apparently tried to contact Godard via phone and fax and emails to one and all. He hasn't got back to them!!

I don't know about you, but generally after I send the second unanswered text message to a person about something, I take the hint and assume they ain't in the mood to party. Instead, people are pointing out that the only other person to miss out on picking up their honorary Oscar was Audrey Hepburn... because she WAS DEAD.

Godard's disdain for Hollywood is as integral to his work as jump cuts and pretty women. From 1960's Breathless (probably the best known and most 'accessible' of his films) to Socialisme, which screened at Cannes this year, he has never had much nice to say about the USA.

This belated tip of the hat, coming in his 80th year, may not mean as much to him as it does to the agitated administrators in downtown LA.

Extra for experts: Jean-Paul Belmondo bonaza. Ooh la la!

Posted by Bel. The time 3.08pm here in Wellington NZ.

I reviewed the Swedish film Let The Right One In back in February. I should have known that anything so entertaining and cinematic would eventually be trampled on by Hollywood.

The trailer for the American remake (directed by the auteur behind Cloverfield and several episodes of Felicity) has just hit the web - and, well, it looks familiar, huh?



Please, do yourself a favour and see the original first. As anyone who's been treating themselves to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, etc, can attest, Swedish language films are easy to follow. The language patterns are eerily similiar to English, so you get into it easily with the subtitles and don't find yourself as conscious of them as with some foreign films. (A trait I know puts a lot of people of exploring non-mainstream movies).

America's continuing fascination with re-doing overseas films instead of releasing and distributing the originals has a sad valid economic reasoning. [Read more here on the LA Times if you want to nerd out]

Less than ten foreign films have ever grossed over US$20 million in America - and only one has made more than US$100 million.

To put that in perspective, Tim Burton's recent release Alice in Wonderland made over US$100 million 'domestically' just on its opening weekend alone - and then made US$265 million in just over a fortnight.

Box Office Mojo have all the info in a big juicy table and, although it's interesting to see a few titles there to add to the must-see list, all in all it's pretty dire.

When you realise that an utter bomb like All About Steve, featuring Sandra Bullock's Razzie Award-winning 'Most Awful Performance', made as much money in the US as Amelie (ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVAH) ...Well. It kinda breaks your heart.

Posted by Bel. The time is 12.12pm here in Wellington, NZ.

The revolution will not be televised. We will all be watching it on youtube, assuming that we haven't already capped out our broadband that month.

Ken Loach's career as a successful and contraversial filmmaker has been established thanks to decades of directing films with a focus on social politics in a realist or documentary style. His recent hit, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, I know is a favourite of Lou's, although I found it too gruelling to watch in entirety.

Loach is now releasing his back catalogue, seven films at present, to be watched for free on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KenLoachFilms

You can also check out Ken Loach on IMDb.

Posted by Lou. The time is 10.48am here in London.

I am totally freaking stoked that:

a) The Hurt Locker so comprehensively cleaned up that nobody can say "it's because she's a woman" to Kathryn's deserved triumph; and

b) James Cameron's ego has been put back in check (or as Bel would say, the Academy have very much told him to SIT BACK DOWN).

But more importantly... how did we do?

Lou - 13/20

Probably one of my best efforts ever, thanks to the Ideal Scenario occurring for The Hurt Locker.

Correct:

• Best Picture - The Hurt Locker - HIGH FIVES
• Best Director - Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker - HIGH FIVES WITH A JUMP AND A WOO AND A BIG HUG
• Best Actor - Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart - though I knew Jeff would win, having now seen A Single Man I feel for Colin as he totally killed in that role
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds - the traditional "quirky" acting performance reward - and well-deserved
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Mo'Nique, Precious - it couldn't have not happened
• Best Animated Feature Film - Up - I soooo want to see this!
• Best Art Direction - Avatar - well deserved :) Mental note: YouTube this for Kiwi accent action
• Best Documentary - The Cove - not sure I can bear to see this... but feel I should - which sounds like the perfect combination for a winning Best Doc
• Best Film Editing - The Hurt Locker - totally well deserved for editing together the most tense film I have ever seen
• Best Music (Score) - Up - I repeat: I soooo want to see this!
• Best Music (Song) - Ryan Bingham, Crazy Heart - am going to watch this on a long-haul flight - may get teary over the song due to long-haul fragility
• Best Visual Effects - Avatar - well deserved
• Best Writing (Original Screenplay) - Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker - awesome - I love when young, heartfelt, passionate writers win this award

Wrong:

• Best Actress - Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side (I said Meryl) - on one hand I think it's a bit of a farce, but on the other hand it's totally in-keeping with Oscar's history of awarding a person known for populist films an Oscar for going into "serious" territory. And on the other hand (I have three hands, apparently) it's not like there was a stand-out lead female performance this year.
• Best Cinematography - Avatar (I said Inglourious Basterds) - a mostly-animated film winning this has confused my understanding of cinematography.
• Best Costume Design - The Young Victoria (I said Bright Star) - I like that the woman acknowledged in receiving this that it's easier to win for period dramas
• Best Foreign Language Film - Argentina's El Secreto de Sus Ojos (I said France's Un Prophete) - am genuinely surprised by A Prophet not winning this one and now eager to see the Argentinian film that toppled it
• Best Sound Editing - The Hurt Locker (I said Avatar) - generally I get sound wrong as I don't really have an appreciation for or understand of "good sound"
• Best Sound Mixing - The Hurt Locker (I said Inglourious Basterds) - ditto
• Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious (I said Nick Hornby, An Education) - happy to get this one wrong :)

Posted by Lou. The time is 11.45 here in London, UK.

**Best Original Screenplay pick adjusted on 22 Feb after discovering that A Serious Man is not A Single Man - ooops**

For me the Oscars this year are all about two people:

Kathryn Bigelow.

Mo'Nique.

Here are my picks for (nearly) all categories - based on having only seen around a third of the key films, mind you.

Actor in a Leading Role

• Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart”
• George Clooney in “Up in the Air”
• Colin Firth in “A Single Man”
• Morgan Freeman in “Invictus”
• Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker”

I completely disagree with Bel - I think it'll be Jeff Bridges. Cloonster's performance is too run of the mill (to my mind, getting nominated for that role is their show of Clooney love as it's not so much of an Oscar role I don't think), and he won for Best Supporting a couple of years back. Of course my private fantasy is that Darcy, oops, I mean Colin Firth, will win and accept in dripping wet clothes, including the all important white shirt.

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Matt Damon in “Invictus”
• Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger”
• Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station”
• Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones”
• Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds”

I definitely reckon Christoph Waltz. He was awesome. And I can't see Inglourious Basterds picking up anything except one or two technical awards at best, so this will be the show of love for Tarantino.

Actress in a Leading Role

• Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side”
• Helen Mirren in “The Last Station”
• Carey Mulligan in “An Education”
• Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
• Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia”

I'd gone for Sandra until reading Bel's point that Meryl hasn't won in more than 20 years...

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Penélope Cruz in “Nine”
• Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air”
• Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart”
• Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air”
• Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”

This for me is the one certainty. It has to be Mo'Nique. Not only is it the most talked about film performance of the year, but it's one of the best supporting performances I've ever seen, full stop.

Animated Feature Film

• “Coraline” Henry Selick
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Wes Anderson
• “The Princess and the Frog” John Musker and Ron Clements
• “The Secret of Kells” Tomm Moore
• “Up” Pete Docter

Up. Definitely Up.

Art Direction

• “Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro; Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
• “Nine” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
• “Sherlock Holmes” Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
• “The Young Victoria” Art Direction: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Hmmm... have only seen Sherlock Holmes from this set. Am going out on a limb to say Avatar...

Cinematography

• “Avatar” Mauro Fiore
• “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Bruno Delbonnel
• “The Hurt Locker” Barry Ackroyd
• “Inglourious Basterds” Robert Richardson
• “The White Ribbon” Christian Berger

I never get Cinematography right, but maybe this year...

Costume Design

• “Bright Star” Janet Patterson
• “Coco before Chanel” Catherine Leterrier
• “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” Monique Prudhomme
• “Nine” Colleen Atwood
• “The Young Victoria” Sandy Powell

*insert grumble about Bright Star being overlooked in every other category*

Directing

• “Avatar” James Cameron
• “The Hurt Locker” Kathryn Bigelow
• “Inglourious Basterds” Quentin Tarantino
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels
• “Up in the Air” Jason Reitman

Kathryn Bigelow deserves it, and I really can't see them having the audacity to not break the historical drought for woman filmmakers when they're handed the opportunity to do it via the same sort of war film that has won for men time and time again.

Documentary (Feature)

I'm copy and pasting from Bel's post so don't have the noms, but from memory The Cove is nominated and it is my choice.

Documentary (Short Subject)

No idea.

Film Editing

• “Avatar” Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
• “District 9” Julian Clarke
• “The Hurt Locker” Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
• “Inglourious Basterds” Sally Menke
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Joe Klotz

I'm going for this one based on the superb tension of the film which is a lot to do with the editing... maybe?

Foreign Language Film

• “Ajami” Israel
• “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” Argentina
• “The Milk of Sorrow” Peru
• “Un Prophète” France
• “The White Ribbon” Germany

(Disclaimer: even though I hate French cinema)

Makeup

• “Il Divo” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
• “Star Trek” Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
• “The Young Victoria” Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

??

Music (Original Score)

• “Avatar” James Horner
• “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Alexandre Desplat
• “The Hurt Locker” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
• “Sherlock Holmes” Hans Zimmer
• “Up” Michael Giacchino

Hmm no idea

Music (Original Song)

• “Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
• “Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36” Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyric by Frank Thomas
• “Take It All” from “Nine” Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
• “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” Music and Lyric by c and T Bone Burnett

Based on seeing the song in Bel's post. Reminds me of the wonderful song (Falling Slowly - one of my all-time favourite songs) from Once that came in and blew the big commercial "made to be number one hits and win Oscars, not actually to advance the film" songs and the bloated celebrity performances of them out of the water with their authenticity and visceral appeal.

Best Picture

• “Avatar” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
• “The Blind Side” Nominees to be determined
• “District 9” Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
• “An Education” Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
• “The Hurt Locker” Nominees to be determined
• “Inglourious Basterds” Lawrence Bender, Producer
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
• “A Serious Man” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
• “Up” Jonas Rivera, Producer
• “Up in the Air” Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Oooooh I don't know!! In the past it has generally gone to the same winner of Best Director, but actually in the past decade or so there have been several anomalies. Um um um... um... I have a little theory that Precious could sneak in based on the new voting methods, but post- Avatar winning the Best Drama Golden Globe I think there will be a reactionary movement in support of The Hurt Locker.

Short Film (Animated)

No idea.

Short Film (Live Action)

As above.

Sound Editing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson
• “Inglourious Basterds” Wylie Stateman
• “Star Trek” Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
• “Up” Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Um... I think it was one of the Oscar-nominated gaffer folks from King Kong who told us the difference whilst we were hanging out in the room full of King Kong sound effects props (like the old washing machine they used to make the boat creaks). Whilst I remember the person and the place I can't remember the actual difference thing... Is it that the missing is all about the layers of sound, and the editing... no wait, that would be editing... um... *googles* Aha, I was on the right track - mixing is the actual layering of the sounds together - like volumes etc - and editing is the creation of the actual sounds.

Sound Mixing

• “Avatar” Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
• “The Hurt Locker” Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
• “Inglourious Basterds” Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
• “Star Trek” Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
• “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

I have no reasoning to back up this choice beyond loving the sound of his baseball bat hitting the tunnel as he slowly emerges...

Visual Effects

• “Avatar” Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
• “District 9” Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
• “Star Trek” Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

I'm saying Avatar because it is Weta right? So this would be another Kiwiland Oscar...

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

• “District 9” Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
• “An Education” Screenplay by Nick Hornby
• “In the Loop” Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
• “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
• “Up in the Air” Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

I'm torn! I can't choose! Heart says Precious, brain says An Education... oooh actually now I'm thinking Up in the Air... hmmm... no, I'm going to go with An Education. This is a fantastic category, btw. With the what-the-fuck exception of District 9.

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• “The Hurt Locker” Written by Mark Boal
• “Inglourious Basterds” Written by Quentin Tarantino
• “The Messenger” Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
• “A Serious Man” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
• “Up” Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Changed to The Hurt Locker

Posted by Lou. The time is 12.50pm here in London, UK.

I was going to email Bel some points from the Jane Campion film festival Screen Talk I had the pleasure of attending the other night, but may as well put them here in case anyone else is interested. It is a mix of thoughts and observations from me, and some second-hand anecdotes from her. I didn't take notes so treat my paraphrasing as being very loose! The person asking the questions was Sandra Hebron, the film festival's Artistic Director. This is a list in no particular order as I recall things:

Jane is incredibly engaging, lively and down-to-earth (in that very Kiwi way!) - she's the exact person you'd want to be put next to at a formal dinner. You can tell that she is able to find humour and depth in everything. I want to be her best friend.

She is very humble and has a lot of grace towards her colleagues - constantly mentioning collaborators and sharing the praise that was given to her work. This was particularly interesting as it is in total opposition to the manner of Werner Herzog, another great filmmaker I saw speak recently. Whilst he positions himself as the sole driving force and the genius of his own work (in a way that does manage to be endearing rather than entirely arrogant), she positions herself as someone who is just doing something she finds interesting with a lot of other people who help make the finished product good. This is super particularly interesting as, whilst I think they are both cinematic geniuses of a kind, hers is actually the more polished and flawless work - hers retains that perspective of films being something you make for an audience; whereas his have that feeling of being something he has made for himself, and if you happen to like it then that's just an incidental bonus.

Sandra asked about something she read in the media, wherein Jane had spoken about a young guy who is on set every day sitting beside her operating the video playback, who - at the grand age of 18 or 19 - would give her "tips" to make the film better ("move the camera more", "don't you need some sex?", etc). Sandra seemed to be quite taken aback by this behaviour - as if it somehow insulted or undermined Jane's role as Director. But Jane obviously finds these guys (who she says are always like this on any film) hilarious, as of course to her they're an over-enthusiastic guy acting like 18- and 19-year-old film guys do and don't have any of her experience or knowledge. This, to me, embodies her under-stated confidence: you know that she knows that she is completely in control. She doesn't need to prance around acting like the king of the world, because she is the king of the world. And she had the grace to say that occasionally these tips are actually useful.

She went on to tell a story about how this guy was gotten back in a way as he was seeing one girl and text-flirting with another and getting input from all the other assistants on set about how to juggle the two girls, and one day was showing a draft text he'd written to one girl to an assistant who just hit "send" instead of helping him with the wording. This is obviously an entirely tangental, unrelated, flippant and banal anecdote from on-set and I love that - I love that she pays that much attention to the people around her and that she finds everybody interesting including the lowest of assistants. Sandra didn't seem so amused by it.

Someone asked a question about the difference in the ending of her film In The Cut versus the ending of the same-named novel upon which it is based. She openly stated that actually the only reason she changed the ending was because the financiers told her she couldn't make it with the book's ending. This prompted someone else to ask for tips on how to deal with funders who are pressuring you to change your artistic vision. Her response was something like: "Well, films need to make the money back. That's economics. Or perhaps that's me being a New Zealander!" (we are a thrifty sort). Having worked for a major funding body, I loved her response as it is the truth: if you're asking someone/an entity to put major investment into your film, you need to listen to what they have to say. There is no obligation owed by The World to filmmakers to give them millions to make their vision as they and only they want it. The money talks. (This is why only paying money to see films that you want to see more of is so important!!) I also, of course, loved that she clearly positioned herself as a New Zealander, as all-too-often she is called an Australian. Anyone who grows up in New Zealand and moves away in their 20s is a New Zealander, no matter where they live or where they work.

Sandra asked what about the story of Keats and Brawne had prompted her to get back into feature filmmaking and she told the most gorgeous story about being in a field and having a horse come up and develop a curiosity for what was in her rucksack, and sort of nudge it open with its nose. She said that she thought it was beautifully tender, and it made her want to make a film about tenderness.

They showed a 5-minute clip from The Piano - a film that I haven't seen for far too many years - and I found it more engaging and moving and beautiful than most filmmakers can hope to achieve in an entire career.

Sandra asked Jane about the fact that many of her protagonists are quite wild and insane, and whether to Jane they are normal or if she is consciously writing insane characters. Jane laughed a lot at this one, and to explain it properly I have to specify: Sandra seemed very much like one of those perfectly groomed, well-spoken people who are (to people like me) perhaps - how shall we say it - a little controlled. So Jane's response is along the lines of "aren't we all just pretending to be sane?" - a sentiment most of us can relate to. But it seemed that Sandra couldn't. And Jane went on to say that anyone who doesn't seem a little bit wild or insane is just trying to look good, and Sandra sort of laughed and disputed it a bit, and Jane reiterated the point, and there was this moment where I think a lot of us realised that perhaps it was hitting a nerve, and it was rather hilarious.

During the clips, as they were seated in front of the screen, Jane just threw herself onto the floor to watch them from down there out of sight, so Sandra had to follow suit, and that was also rather amusing as you could tell it wasn't an organic thing for her to do but an entirely natural thing to Jane.

Okay, so, as you may be picking up, there was this brilliant juxtaposition between the two women which often served to emphasise Jane's points and add a layer of hilarity, but also at times held the conversation back as Sandra would paraphrase what Jane was saying but not quite get it right. (This isn't a criticism of Sandra - I think she came off very well, just entirely different in personality.)

Another anecdote I loved was mentioning that a specific moment in Bright Star - a moment that will give you butterflies and may cause swooning - was improvised by Ben Whishaw. (Ben was in the audience - just quietly sitting there for no-one to notice, obviously having enough esteem and respect for his director to be interested in listening to her speak for 90 minutes about filmmaking.) This is another example of her always giving credit to others.

She spoke about how in film school her teachers were largely negative towards her work, but that she took this positively: it can mean that they think your work is worth pulling apart and specifically critiquing, and it is a great primer for being in the industry and being able to maintain confidence and vision in the face of negative pressure.

And on the subject of critiquing, she told how learning first of all to critique something totally handicaps your ability to then do the something because your first instinct will be to critique yourself. This hits a nerve for me as I find it difficult to write now as I spent two years critiquing other people's writing: all I can see is the faults.

I really desperately wanted to ask a question about how she formed the screenplay in relation to Keats' own words - whether she had particular extracts she weaved her writing around, or whether she wove his words in as she went, or if they were the cherry on the top that were added once she had her story in place. My interest stems from Bright Star being such a great example of the organic blending of two artists' work (the filmmaker and the subject) that leaves neither dominating or dictating to the other. Alas, given the chance to directly question my idol, I went all shy. But maybe one day I'll find myself sat next to her at a dinner...

Edited by Lou. The time is 11.50am here in London, UK.

I left out the best bit!!!

Sandra spoke about how Jane's films feature strong, unconventional female protagonists and then asked her why she thinks this is so rare. Jane did the pause that says "well duh" and said "...because only 3% of directors are women" like hello Sandra. Instead of laughing and going "of course" (because, um, yeah, that's pretty much it in a nutshell) Sandra tried to push it further sort of saying "but your characters in particular", which was not a great line of questioning as, well, yeah, her characters in particular because she is one of the few women given funding to make generously budgeted art films with female protagonists (I'm sure there are hundreds - thousands - of other woman filmmakers out there with great strong female protagonists who would fucken love to make films about them if the industry wasn't so wholly sexist). But Jane went with it and further said that it seems natural to her to make films that express her experience of life as a woman. Love her.

Posted by Bel. The time is 11:17am here in Wellington, NZ.

Usually the polls on Stuff.co.nz are along the lines of 'Is Megan Fox really the new Angelina Jolie?' with the options to click 'Yes', 'No', or 'I Don't Care As Long As They Get It OOOOON'.

But a few days ago, they had a topic close to my popcorn-scoffing heart: "Which behaviour is least acceptable at the movies?". Even the options to select from sensibly covered most cinematic grudge starter...

Using mobile phones
This is pretty high on my list. I've never been at the movies when someone has answered their phone in the midst, but there are dreadful rumours of such a thing happened. I hate it when someone has their phone on vibrate. Fuck! You can still hear vibrate! I will scowl (somewhat futilely) at someone's wee screen lighting up if it is on silent, but lordy me the tiny growl of a vibrating phone does my head in.

Discussing the plot
Depends to what extent.
Monmentarial whispered clarification = ok.
Continual mindless banter proving you do not have the intelligence capability to follow a film with 1930s intertitles = not ok.

Laughing at the wrong moments
Totally fine. We all have our weaknesses.

Kicking the chair in front
As someone of above average height and shoe size, I know that seating arrangements at a cinema can be at times less than comfortable. Does this gives anyone an excuse to wage warfare on another patron's spine? No. Sit still for fuck's sake.

Loud eating
In Transformers? Game on. I believe I even got into a burping contest after my 4th beer. But in anything where nothing is exploding, please be dignified. Open all that kai you smuggled in as quietly as possible.

Monopolising the armrest
Tricky situation. Usually it is a case of the person on your left has decided they want their right armrest, and the person on your right has decided they want their left armrest. Then you're pretty much fucked. Unless you can spark up some spontaneous hand-holding or something.

Amorous displays
Tolerable in the back row only. Sheesh, everyone knows that.

Clapping
Clapping? Clapping? What could be wrong with that?? Perhaps coming from somewhat of a live performance background, I have no problem with the occasional outburst of spontaneous applause. I'm always so caught up in a movie I don't even think about it - not that I would stand up and give an ovation because of some awesome thing Mel Gibson said about stuff they could never take off us, but you know.

Are there any other pet hates they've missed?

Posted by Bel. The time is 9:50pm here in Wellington, NZ.

The official trailer for The Lovely Bones is up. You can go view it over on apple.com (click here for direct link) in either small, medium or whoops there goes our GBs for the month.

I'll wait here while you go check it out.

...

Ok what did you think?

Apparently the release was quite a big deal in the States, with Entertainment Tonight doing a screening of a trailer of the trailer. This however resulted in much online mockery, rather than exultant hype, including some speculation on just how awful Mark Wahlburg's wig is going to look.

For me, it was a narrative heavy trailer, blatantly laying out the storyline as opposed to creating a sense of atmosphere. Peter Jackson has been quoted as saying the optimism of the novel drew him to the project, but there are some pretty cliched horror shots in there. It will be interesting to see how this balances out - but I think many people have forgotten how brilliant a film Heavenly Creatures is, and I hope this will be the same kind of mix.

At least we know it won't be as bad as - you know - that other upcoming film. The other adaptation of which we have vowed to never speak. *wipes away a tear*

PS Here is some speculation on why Ryan Gosling was booted off The Lovely Bones back in the early days.

PPS I can't believe I'm the first to put a Ryan Gosling tag in here.

Posted by Bel. The time is 3:43pm here in Wellington, NZ.

Hat tip to Lou, who first discovered the blog Women & Hollywood, where there is a new post up about Jane Campion.

Her film, Bright Star, is screening at Cannes, though this article focuses less on that and more on her role as a female director in general.

Campion is quoted as making the comment that she would like to see more female directors represented and that women need to "put on our coats of armour" to succeed in a male-dominated industry.

And in other Cannes-related news, a bonus point for guessing which new NZFC film gets the piss taken out of it by the Guardian in this slideshow of posters for movies in the Cannes market, "far away from the arthouse films being unveiled in competition".