Archive for January 8th, 2009
January 8th, 2009
Over at his Web site, David Bordwell examines the history of what he calls “bugs” — those annoying little logos that appear at the bottom and in the corners of your TV screen to remind you (as if you’d forget) what channel or show you happen to be watching…
Like the above image proves, even a channel aimed at movie lovers (in this case IFC)  isn’t above using them.
What I found amazing about Bordwell’s post, though, is proof that these sort of things happened long, long ago — before the invention of TV, in fact. Producers, eager to stop their movies from being pirated, put company logos on the intertitles of silent films. Then, realizing that replacing those titles was easy for would-be pirates, they went a step further — and put the logos on the sets of the movies themselves…
That “AB” under the window is the logo for American Biograph, the company that produced this 1911 film, WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR OLD?  Bordwell has lots of other examples, complete with handy frame blow-ups, over at his site. Check it out if you want to learn something about the movies you probably never even suspected.
Images courtesy of David Bordwell’s site.
January 8th, 2009
Courtesy of Variety, the nominees are:
Danny Boyle (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, above)
David Fincher (THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON)
Ron Howard (FROST/NIXON)
Christopher Nolan (THE DARK KNIGHT)
Gus Van Sant (MILK)
Looks like THE DARK KNIGHT has a shot at nabbing a Best Picture nomination after all. Well find out on Jan. 22.
January 8th, 2009
With 2008 behind us and the Oscars looming ahead of us, Slate.com has once again convened its movie club, gathering a collection of critics and encouraging them to hash out the films of the past year — what worked, what didn’t and what really didn’t.
Many of the big Oscar contenders have yet to arrive in Rockford, so beware of spoilers, but the discussion is pretty interesting anyway. Start with this page and continue from there.
January 8th, 2009
The Writers Guild has announced its nominees for the 2008 crop of films:
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: BURN AFTER READING, MILK, VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA (with Penelope Cruz, above), THE VISITOR and THE WRESTLER.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE DARK KNIGHT, DOUBT, FROST/NIXON, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
BEST DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY: BOOGIE MAN: THE LEE ATWATER STORY, CHICAGO 10, FUEL, GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON, WALTZ WITH BASHIR
Frankly, I’m pretty surprised that SYNECDOCHE, NY by Charlie Kaufman didn’t get the nod, and surprised that BENJAMIN BUTTON did. (I liked the movie, but the screenplay was the weakest part.) Nice to see the Coens get a nomination for BURN AFTER READING (check out my review of the movie here) and Woody Allen get one for Vicky Christina Barcelona (check out my review of Woody’s CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS here).
Haven’t seen most of the docs, but I did catch BOOGIE MAN, and it’s a very compelling tale well told. Of course, given the ups and downs of Atwater’s life, they had a heck of a story to work with.
