Talk about random

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Also, we’re pretty sure that she and Steve Buscemi here are going to be the next big couple. Call them Buscemiller.

Guuuh… noooo!! [link]

FYI: No Oscar for you.

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It’s that time again. The stars dress up, deck out and get toasted on expensive wine and inflated egos. That’s right, the Oscar nominees were announced this glorious morning of January 23, 2007. Nothing for Buscemi, I’m afraid. I guess we’ll have to wait until ‘08 for a much deserved Best Actor. However, Monster House is up for Best Animated Movie. So, Mr. B will likely be out sinning it up with his Hollywood cohorts.

May there be much bar-top dancing and lamp shade hats in the very near future. Congrats to the noms (especially Kate Winslet)!

Critics argue about Sundance

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I found this Delirious/Interview critic catfight write-up very amusing indeed. Half of you can suck it, and the other half can come to tea. That includes you, dwhudson.

You people need a union or something. Sheesh. See one post below for appropriate ‘WTF?’ imagery.

Delirious review number two: not so much, I guess.

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New York Magazine wasn’t much for Delirious, apparently. Despite doing a great write up on Buscemi and how fantastic he is (see here), their review of the movie was rather chilly. Consider the opening remarks:

In the case of Delirious, Tom DiCillo’s screwball comedy about the lonely life of a paparazzi in New York City, I fear that some people won’t be able to see through the stars and acknowledge the movie’s blaring mediocrity.

… Gulp. It goes on to lament:

The situation offers compelling insight into the character’s psyche; he relies on the distance and non-commital quality of the still image to shroud himself in fantasy. But the scene still doesn’t work, because, after all, we’re watching Steve Buscemi and Elvis Costello, both immediately recognizable celebrities, creating an unwanted self-referential effect, as though the two well-known men were winking to each other as they acted out the scene.

The reviewer stresses that the actors do well, and then goes on to say how unbelievable it is. I don’t know, I don’t get paid to write reviews and I certainly don’t get paid to write reviews on reviews, so click the link if you’d like to try to make sense of it - this cruel, cold, dark world. Weep.

This particular review is a double bitch slap, considering the other movie featured (poorly) is Grace is Gone, a title you may remember from this post. Sorry Jim, looks like we’re both out of luck today.

Sundance + Buscemi = BFF

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Image taken from Sundance imeem

Just a quickie, but much to my shock, Delirious is a major-league indie crowd pleaser and could end up being one of the biggest sales of the festival. It isn’t Little Miss Sunshine or Napoleon Dynamite by a $30 million shot. But it has the makings of a cult classic, including a perfect performance by Steve Buscemi, the best use of Michael Pitt aside from Van Sant, and enough extra flavor, whether the hot Gina Gershon as a horny manager and Alison Lohman as a kinder gentler BrittanyParisLindsay. Lots of eye candy. Lots of showbiz satire that is pretty close to documentary. And a fairly relaxed piece altogether. [Source]

As expected, a raving review of Delirious was patiently waiting for me in my inbox this morning. Apparently, the film is a hit. Time to collectively cross our fingers and hope for studio backing. I’ll be off to Blockbuster this evening to see if I can’t dig up more from this DiCillio fellow.

In the hands of a lesser filmmaker, Delirious could have been a basic and very obvious farce: the photographer would be an irredeemable sleazeball, the pop star would be an absolute bitch and the industry of, ahem, “freelance photography” would be undoubtedly dismissed as obnoxious and evil … but DiCillo is a much better screenwriter than most. His characters are flawed but sympathetic, even when they’re behaving like selfish jerks. The director draws some really excellent performances from his three leads (Gina Gershon pops up with a great little supporting turn, as does Kevin Corrigan) and seems to enjoy squashing the viewers’ early predictions. Just when you’re sure you know how Delirious is going to close, DiCillo comes up with a capper that’s as satisfying as it is understated.

Unfortunately, there is a noticable lack of Interview related stories. According to PeakTalk, the first review was not all that enthusiastic. I can’t find the damn thing to save my life, so we’ll have to take his word for it. I expected a little more attention, considering the controversy of it’s first director, Theo van Gogh. I’ll keep an eye out. Until then, here’s a video clip of Buscemi explaining how he made a remake unique. Enjoy.

 

 

THIS IS SUNDANCE, BABY!

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Delirious premiers January 19 at 3:15PM.
Interview premiers January 20th at 5:30PM
See additional times and official at Sundance.org - I can’t provide any direct links. (the sneaky bastards)

Sundance Film Festival, the place to premiere your art school/pulp flick/hardcore/emo spool, is open for business! Here’s some articles:

• NewsWeek: Six Characters to Watch as Sundance Unfolds. Buscemi gets a nod for both his starring roles - the photographer Les in Delirious and Pierre, a political journalist in Interview.
• England Doesn’t Believe In Sundance. Just kidding. It’s actually a pretty interesting article about the Sundance ‘hijack’ by big studio interests, and balancing business with independent spirit.
• FilmThreat Blurbs Selections. A short synops of all the 2007 picks.
• Wikipedia Sundance 2007. If you’re in to that kind of thing.

See you in a few days for the Delirious reviews!

“Steve Buscemi is the best director I’ve ever worked with.”

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… Or something similar.

Steve really included me in the process and I tried to take as many mental notes as possible.

Ever heard of Jim Strouse? He’s a plus in my book already, seeing as how he wrote the screenplay to Lonesome Jim. Strouse gives an interview to indieWIRE and credits Mr. B for teaching him the finer points of filmmaking.

 No film school. I watched a ton of movies in high school. All kinds, from pop American comedies to French New Wave. My real education as a filmmaker came from working with Steve Buscemi on “Lonesome Jim.”

Strouse will get a chance to thank his mentor in person, as he’ll be making his directorial debut at (guess where!?) Sundance Film Festival. The flick in question is Grace is Gone, an “elegant film that’s as topical as it is devastating.” (so says Sundance) Good luck, Jim!

Blah blah blah DELIRIOUS

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Image: Peace Arch Entertainment

It’s a Sundance Mash-Up! A little hard to read, considering the lack of obvious paragraphs, but Delirious is mentioned several times. Sundance opened yesterday, January 18th (oops, forgot to mention that) and as soon as I can track down the screen dates of Interview and Delirious, I’ll let you know. Hopefully not a day late. (Sorry, sorry.)

 

Interview Death Threats

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This is old news, but it falls under the things you might not know catagory. Theo van Gogh, the original director of Interview, was murdered by an Islamic extremist in 2004, just a year after Interview premiered. Apparently, the stars of the remake are recieving death threats from the same group. This includes our pal Steve Buscemi. You can read the source article here. I scanned the web for an update, but haven’t found anything. Seeing as how Buscemi and Miller are still alive, the prognosis looks good.

Hmm.

TISB’s MySpace is all kinds of updated.

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I’ve been working hard! New colors, new graphics and tons of new images in the gallery. Have a look!

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