Theater critic deservedly under fire

The Chicago Sun-Times and theater critic Hedy Weiss have come under fire recently for publishing Weiss's review of a festival of workshop productions of new musicals. She gave negative reviews to all 8 productions of the Stages 2006 musical festival at the Theater Building in Chicago while not staying at any until they were complete.

The review is really an awful ethical decision on the part of Weiss and the Sun-Times, and I would argue it's not above a suspension for Weiss from the paper. New musicals are workshopped for a reason. The president of the Dramatists Guild, quite correctly, argued in a letter to the Sun-Times:

These musicals were presented in workshop. Every musical in workshop is understood to be a work in progress. Workshopping a new musical provides an opportunity for writers to evaluate their work as it evolves, protected from the consequences of critical appraisal. This security allows writers to take chances, to be bold, maybe even to embarrass them­selves—in short, to do their work.

As someone who has been both a playwright and a theater critic, I know how works need a lot of time to develop before they become polished plays and productions, and key structural components and dialogue are often changed even through the final previews. By not sticking around until each play was completed and reviewing unfinished plays, Weiss, a critic at the Sun-Times for the past 15 years, clearly made an irresponsible decision.

Hopefully, this won't damage the relationship between critics and playwrights more than it is already damaged. Weiss here demonstrates a common problem among the current state of arts criticism--when a critic's position and reputation is secure, he often feels he can get away with saying and doing whatever he wants regardless of how ethical or fair it may be. Sometimes I think critics are maligned unfairly, but this case is more clear cut. I think Weiss needs more than a slap on the wrist for her actions.

Emmys in review

All in all, I have to say I was happy with the Emmys. While the nominations were disastrous and the lack of nominations for Edie Falco and James Gandolfini were almost as bad as the one for Ellen Burstyn, I think the actual awards ceremony did a good job of damage control on its already shattered reputation.

I haven't watched the Emmys since 1999, when, disguisted by the victory of The Practice over the first season of The Sopranos, I vowed in typical thirteen-year old fashion never to watch the Emmys again. The prospect of Conan O'Brien hosting made me take away my vow, and he managed to offend people within 15 seconds. Hopefully he won't be blamed for the plane crash skit, as it wasn't his decision to air it that day. Overall he was a hilarious host, and I plan to YouTube his Music Man spoof quite frequently

The only real awful awarding decision was Barry Manilow's victory over Stephen Colbert for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Colbert joked about it later, but the Academy must be delusional if it thinks Manilow deserves the award.

The other major gaff was the salute to Aaron Spelling by the former stars of Charlie's Angels, which ran on for too long, seemed poorly planned and scripted, and was generally embarrassing for everyone involved.

Ultimately, what came out of the awards is its demonstration of how TV has seen its dominance declined, as canceled programs and shows in its final season dominated the awards. The negative press for the Emmys is certainly not helping.

With plans to introduce an unprecedented amount of product placement in the next five years due to YouTube and TiVo, hopefully this means networks' dependence on reality shows has reached its limits. Maybe to regain a widespread audience, television will put on programs people actually want to watch. Strange idea, isn't it?

Turns out, B really does stand for Bad

It's become fashionable to say that Snakes on a Plane delivers exactly what it promises, but it does not. I guess, though, if you're a 13-year-old MySpace addict whose idea of humor consists of Samuel L. Jackson saying the word "motherfucker" as frequently as possible, your ticket money wasn't wasted. What was that other movie that was so hyped up via the Internet? Oh, yeah...everyone's favorite, The Blair Witch Project.

Man, I can't believe how duped we were. The movie was so bad, and not in a so-bad-it's good way. It was just bad. It took forever to get going, the special effects were subpar even by made-for-TV standards, and by the time Jackson finally uttered the line "I want these motherfucking snakes off these motherfucking plane!", I wanted to weep with the anticlimacticness of it all. I've already seen a cheesy, so-bad-it's-funny snake movie. It's called Anaconda.

Top 10 Underrated Madonna Moments

Inspired by a video montage on YouTube - which I found posted to Andrew Sullivan's blog (!) - here are my nominees for top 10 underrated Madonna moments:

10.) "The Next Best Thing," her 2000 starrer featuring Rupert Everett. It's no "Citizen Kane" - hell, it's not even "Evita" - but it's entertaining enough. Besides, in one of the only recorded instances of Madonna acting her age, we get to see her play with her sagging boobs.

9.) The "Sex" book. My friend Tony has it, and it's hysterical. What would you rather put on your coffee table - Richard Gere's "Pilgrim"? Jewel's "A Night Without Armor"? Face it, this is your best celebrity-based option.

8.) Her kiss with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. She was accused of desperately trying to revamp her career, but this was actually a clever commentary on Madonna's supremacy in the pop-cultural canon. And that reaction shot of Justin Timberlake was priceless.

7.) "Erotica," the song. Famous for its near-rhyme "Erotica, erotica/ Put your hands all over my body," this ditty almost made S/M palatable. At least to me.

6.) "Erotica," the album. I actually liked her cover of Peggy Lee's "Fever," and the original is one of my favorite songs of all time. Bonus points for losing that dorky Pocahontas/John Smith verse. And "Deeper and Deeper" is one of her best dance songs ever, though few people remember it.

5.) "I Love New York," from the album "Confessions on a Dance Floor." I don't like the couplet "I don't like cities, but I love New York/ Other places make me feel like a dork" any more than you do, and the "mad/sad/bad" rhyme scheme isn't very sophisticated, either. But can we talk about the driving beat? Now you're talkin'.

4.) Her cover of Don McLean's "American Pie." Blasphemous? Duh, that was the point. Those who bitched about her reinterpretation of this classic should've been grateful that she brought it back to the headlines, as the current generation sees it as the inspiration for a Jason Biggs sex comedy. Madonna actually streamlines the song, making it more accessible, without losing the emotional thread - though the rockin' video is definitely tongue-in-cheek.

3.) "Hollywood," from the album "American Life." If only this - instead of the title song - had been the first single from the album, Madonna's 10th studio album may not have been her first bona fide flop. When "Hollywood" was finally released, even her die-hard fans had pretty much written the album off. But not me.

2.) "Rescue Me," from the album "The Immaculate Collection." The 17th track on "The Immaculate Collection" is often forgotten after the high of "Vogue" and the seductive sleaze of "Justify My Love." Sure, it's presumptuous to put a previously unreleased song on a greatest-hits collection (a practice Madonna later eschewed with her "GHV2: Greatest Hits Volume 2"), but this track should've been bigger. It would be a better theme to the Denis Leary F/X program of the same name than the Von Bondies' "Come On, Come On."

1.) "American Life," the album. Her rapping alienated many people (come on, Madonna, it took how many months of practice with Missy Elliot to rap "I'm drinking a soy latte/ I got a double shot-tay/ It goes right through my body"?), but most of the songs are better than you remember. My favorites are the sparse, touching "Intervention" and the thumping "Love Profusion."

So there you have it. By my logic, Madonna has made no real misstep, not even in her vastly misunderstood acting career (which requires a whole 'nother post). I was going to end this post with a plea for her induction to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, but Madonna is, like, so above that. Don't forget to check out the video on Sullivan's blog (his YouTube of the Day for August 26, 2006) if you doubt the contributions of this incredible, innovative artist.

We're a minority to Hollywood

I always knew I represented a minority in the film market. As someone more interested in silent Soviet films than the latest Pirates of the Carribean blockbuster, I was well aware that my tastes are limited to relatively small academic and critical circles. But I didn't realize just how far I was from mostg American moviegoers until I witnessed the failure of Snakes on a Plane last weekend. When The Woodsman or Spellbound fails at the box office, I'm more understanding. But when Snakes of a Plane, which most of my friends had been eagerly anticipating for six months fails, I realize that my demographic is irrelvent even with the worst of the Hollywood schlock.

Just about everyone I know who went to the movie theaters last weekend saw SOAP, and just about all of them thought the movie fulfilled its purpose. I live in a dorm where Bad Movie Night is a heralded tradition, and many of my friends practically live on the internet. So while the movie was a success for nerdy, college-going populations, overall it was a massive dissapointment.

That being said, I don't think this development is a failure for the possibilities of internet hype, even though Hollywood will be reluctant to use SOAP tactics in the future. I think the major problem was switching the film from a PG-13 to R rating. While in theory people want to see more gruesome deaths and hear Samuel L. Jackson utter loud profanities, in reality those decisions alienated the younger teenage market. The changes added little success to the 18-25 market that would have probably seen the movie anyway.

The main challenge with internet hype is that managing the hype leaves little margin for error, but the positive effects can be dramatic (this goes for all art forms). Mostly, studios will just have to separate what's funny for bloggers to talk about and what's funny for moviegoers to actually see. Despite the depressing need for success during the first weekend in Hollywood today, hopefully the studios will be able to learn from its mistakes and not bury them in history.

Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I flew back from Germany on Saturday, and for the past few days I have been spending long overdue time with friends, include spending Tuesday through Thursday in Pennsylvania. I'm going to Vermont this weekend for much needed R & R. I will try to update while there, but I have a 56k connection there and various cousins, siblings and friends of siblings to contend with, so it may be hard. Besides, it's best to avoid cheap shots at Tom Cruise, right?

A final note for Germany

My flight from Berlin leaves in about 10 hours (I'm up listening to the Yankees-Red Sox game). I thought before I leave I should make a post on the recent Günther Grass scandal.

In case you haven't been following, On Tuesday the German Speigel reported that Günther Grass, the Nobel laureate and outspoken critic of Nazism, actually served in the Luftwaffen SS during World War II. Previously, it had been assumed that he had been too young to participate in anything other than the mandatory Hitler Youth during the Nazi regime.

This story may be the biggest embarrassment for German culture in the past decade. What makes it so bad is not that Grass had been in the SS, but rather that he had denied his past for the past 60 years. Grass was the leading post-War critic of repressing German history and along with his other Gruppe 47 members reintroduced frank, honest speech into German vernacular. His denial, contrary to his legacy on world literature, essentially invalidates his entire career, and puts a huge damper on post-War German culture.

Ironically, his effect was positive enough that Germans, who have slowly been getting better at dealing with their history, have been criticizing Grass profusely. I suppose it is just, at least, that the attitudes Grass created are paradoxically getting stronger by criticizing him loudly and frankly. It's possible, of course, that this could just be overcompensation, which has been a constant problem with Germany's "success" at dealing with their history throughout the post-War era.

Chicago finally gets it due

I thought I should take the time and discuss the University which makes this blog possible. The new US News rankings came out to day, and the University of Chicago's ranking has increased nearly two fold. Although the system used by US News is fundamentally flawed and has a disastrous effect on national admissions policies, Chicago's increase in this year's rankings should nonetheless be considered a victory for the U of C and especially Ted O'Neill.

Despite it's distinctive emphasis on undergraduate education and elite status among international universities, the University of Chicago has been underrated in the rankings in recent years due to its low applicant numbers and slightly below average retention rate. In the previous rankings, we tied with Brown, a school that couldn't be further apart in approach to undergraduate education, for 16th. This year, we leapfrogged to 9th, tying our intellectual ally Columbia as well as Dartmouth. Perhaps the biggest victory is that we overtook our north-side and Midwestern rivals, Northwestern and Washington U., respectively.

Even though the US News rankings is an albatross that feeds on itself, the main reason Chicago has lagged behind in application numbers, I would venture to say, is not because of US News but instead because of the Uncommon Application. Ted O'Neill has consistently refused to give in to pressure from the outside on his application policys and recruiting strategies, and it has served to maintain Chicago's unique body of students and intellectual focus. The fact that he can stick to his guns and still succeed in a ranking that has been a major source of his problems is a landmark in his already celebrated career as Dean of Admissions.

While I've heard some criticize the class of 2009 for being less intellectually focused than previous years, I think this is a load of crap, and that the people who make this claim should spend a week at some of the schools we overtook. Overall, I don't think this will have much effect on the University or its image. As long as we have the Uncommon Application and the "where fun comes to die" stereotype, we'll still be the U of C. I'm just happy to see us finally get more of the recognition we warrant.

Album of the year candidate?

Although I don't want this blog to become a forum for reviews, the album I heard today more than warranted the space. I originally posted this on my mog:

So after falling for the hype c/o Berlin U-Bahn ads and allmusic, I decided I couldn’t wait for its stateside release and splurged on Damaged, the latest album by country-folk weirdo Kurt Wagner and his backing band. I have only heard parts of Is A Women and Nixon since then, but from what I can tell the earlier material is slightly more streamlined than any of the tracks on Damaged. Still, I have not heard anything better and more complete this year than Wagner’s latest.

One major break from Lambchop’s past releases, by a completely different vocal approach. With a voice ravaged by mouth surgery and a cancer scare, you can almost hear the cyst reverberate through his vocals, as singing is no longer so easy. In the first and signature track, “Paperback Bible” it’s impossible to imagine him singing for all tracks, let alone the end of the first one. Yet, through an act of sheer will he manages to overcome his limitations and produce a fantastic vocal performance through brillaint, unassuming lyrics and solid-restraint singing.

The album is a classic for more than just the vocals. The production is a revelation, and keyboards, synths, scratchy tapes and raw guitars are always hinted at, but always in the subconscious, never fully dominating. The album’s mood follows a classic thesis antithesis-resolution-structure. A deep despair drones hopelessly at the beginning, but is followed by a chance for redemption towards the second act, with the solution lying somewhere in between.

While “Paperback Bible” is the standout on the album, “The Decline of Country and Western Civilization” is a perfect kiss-off closer in pure Lampchop style. It’s here that Wagner’s vocals become transcendent, as he dismisses everyone from Pitchfork to preachers with the phrase “damn their looking ugly to me” with a delivery paging Captain Beefheart. While this approach is comparable to John Lennon’s with Plastic Ono Band, “The Decline of Country”, as with all the others on Damaged, is distinctly Wagner’s. Simply put, this is the most unique, challenging, and convention-defying album popular music has had in quite some time, and proof that the album, although a dying medium, is the most fully realized format for popular music’s artistic expression.

I got a fever...

Awhile back I made a post on the unfortunate decision to cast John Travolta in the film remake/adaptation of recent Broadway hit Hairspray!. But while the prospect of seeing Travolta sing and dancing in drag would not generally find it's place on my must-see list, A movie with John Travolta in drag and Christopher Walken singing and dancing would.

Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch reminded me today why it's on my Bloglines with the report that the bag of awesomeness known as Chris Walken has joined the cast of the remake of John Waters' cult classic. He plays Wilson, Edna (aka Travolta)'s husband. This could turn into one of the most ridiculous duet performances of the decade.

Perhaps most exciting, though, is that it's another opportunity for Chris to pull his cake ploy.

A few words for Bruno Kirby

As a man who loves character actors, I'm always frustrating to see an excellent actor not get the recognition he deserves. Thus, I should mention the passing Bruno Kirby, the man who gave classic supporting performances in The Godfather Part II, When Harry Met Sally and City Slickers (where, I would argue, his performance is better than the Oscar-winning performance by Jack Palance). City Slickers was his last significant performance outside of few TV cameos and Donny Brasco, though this may have been for the best, as his acting style and personality was ideal for mainstream film of the 70s and 80s. Plus, you realzed how badly he was missed when Jon Lovitz tried to replace him in City Slickers II.

While he died too young and it's sad to see him go, Kirby has been getting a lot of recent recognition by the press, which I would not have expected. While it's unfortunate that it takes death to get Kirby proper praise, it's nice to see a truly gifted and versatile actor finally get the accolades that had evaded him previously.

Fake news faces FCC regulations

According to CBC.ca, the FCC is investigating fake news clips that are produced by corporations and disguised as real news to TV viewers. The corporations pay actors to play newscasters, and and the clips feature these actors as "experts" on the news programs. They are popular with stations because they are handed out for free and hence cut the stations' production costs.

FCC Commisioner Jonathan Adelstein stated "The public is misled by individuals who present themselves to be independent unbiased experts or reporters, but are actually shills promoting a prepackaged corporate agenda."

While Adelstein has made fake news his signature campaign during his tenure as commisioner and has a solid liberal background, his supposed opposition to corporate influence is mired by the fact that he has allowed the merging of media companies into increasingly larger conglomerates. While I don't think he's to blame for the lack of wiretapping investigation, wiretapping certainly has put a damper on his legacy, as well as catering to the hypersensitive reaction to the Janet Jackson scandal.

Finally, while we may be cutting down on fake news in the US, remember that fake news stories continue to dominate the press in Iraq. No one but Frank Rich seems to care.

Leslie Jordan

With the controversy swirling around this year's Emmys (see Ethan's previous post about Ellen Burstyn's nominated micro-performance), I've been enjoying press interviews with Leslie Jordan, who plays mincing stereotype Beverly Leslie on the now-defunct Will & Grace.

While I'm no fan of that character or the show, it's refreshing to hear an actor talk about how fervently he wants to win, how being nominated really is an honor - it's not just hype (sorry, all you jaded media whores), and how his nomination was completely unexpected (ya gotta believe him - when his agent called with the news, he thought he was being nominated for his voice-over on the abysmal American Dad).

Seriously, reading the interviews with this grateful, unpretentious actor gave me a weirdly warm feeling. Also, ya gotta love an openly gay man who wants to bring his mom to the awards ceremony. (Why openly gay? Because when Kevin Spacey does it, it seems like he's just trying to dodge a publicist-made relationship with the starlet of the moment.)

For some reason, when Jordan disses his competition - for, among other things, "playing themselves" - it seems brave, not petty. Because, as Ethan wrote before, the Emmys are kind of a joke. What's wrong with admitting that, while still celebrating your personal accomplishment? The voters can't be wrong every time.

Go Leslie! I may actually watch the telecast this year.

In Defense of Britney Spears

I've said it again, and I'll say it before: Poor Britney Spears. She's just a Southern girl with remarkable musical talent and average intelligence (yes, average—and if you think that's too generous, you haven't been to a state fair recently) who was manipulated by her mother and managers into a singing/dancing/gum-chomping automaton. And while we're on topic, yes, "white trash" still counts as a racial slur.

The woman can't walk into a gas-station restroom or trip on the sidewalk any longer without being eviscerated by the media. It's pathetic. Yes, it's gross to walk into a restroom barefoot, and it's dangerous to slip while you're holding your infant son, but she's only a human—albeit a larger-than-life pop-diva version of one. And no one can be hygienic or safe one-hundred percent of the time.

That said, after watching the YouTube video that's been making the rounds lately—where Britney belches, rambles incoherently, and offers her theories on time travel—I'm shocked that the mainstream media hasn't mentioned that she also seems to be discussing the movie Spun, the 2002 crystal-meth phantasmagoria starring Brittany Murphy and Mickey Rourke. Especially because, um, Britney seems to be a little "spun" herself.

Britney has given us some truly great pop-cultural moments: her video for "...Baby One More Time," with genius Madonna-esque imagery and Catholic-baiting; dancing to "I'm a Slave 4 U" with a python at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards (by the way, she's said she was terrified by that snake, but as a true show-biz trooper, she knew the show had to go on); and "Toxic," which is almost as thrill-inducing as the titular concoction.

If Britney is on drugs, I hope she gets help, because I want a sequel to "Oops, I Did It Again," dammit.

Piss on Mars Volta--literally!

I love The Mars Volta, and I don't care what Pitchfork says. They're the only band right now equally beloved in the metal, indie, and popular music scenes, and are one of the most aggressive bands in the world in a agression-starved music market.

If you needed any more evidence for their awesomeness, dig this: apparently some douchebag at the Mars Volta's recent set in Seattle had the balls to toss urine at the band members. Consequently, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez smashed his guitar into the amp and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala offered incentives for the head of the dude who threw urine at them.

This is one of the most random, aggressive rock fables to emerge this decade, the type of confrontation sorely missing from 21st-century indie rock. Shame on Pitchfork for giving Frances The Mute a 2.0. Here's the video:
Mars Volta at Endfest 8/12/06

Henry Rollins, Lambchop, and other observations

Is it just me, or is the fact that Henry Rollins, the singer of "TV Party", now hosts his own television show exceedingly ironic? I use "ironic" because terms like "hypocrite," "sell-out," and "whore" are thrown around far too often. I suppose a talk show on IFC is slightly less ironic than his former MTV VJ gig, but I'm shocked I didn't make this connection earlier.

In other Black Flag-related news (kinda), I am immensely intrigued by a new CD by a band called Lambchop. On the TVs on the Berlin underground trains, they frequently advertise "CDs der Woche", with bands like the Rifles getting the nod in earlier weeks. This week, they've been billing a new Lambchop album titled Damaged, which is where the Black Flag comes in.

I initially thought this would be gag-inducing. Here's a band named after a frickin' PBS sock puppett ripping a title from a classic hardcore album. Just to make sure this wasn't a Replacements-like move, however, I checked out Lambchop on allmusic. As it turns out, they're an alt-country/noise rock band on Merge who was once billed as "Nashville's most fucked up country band." They've been around since the early 90s, and got their start making cassettes with titles like I'm Fucking Your Daughter. They also had a concept album about Richard Nixon with a bibliography in the liner notes, and have enjoyed a rabid British and European following despite getting almost no recognition in the U.S.

In other words, I need to hear this band. I'm going straight to allofmp3 when I get home Saturday to pick up whatever Lambchop I can get my hands on. Not only that, but they have more then enough cred to rip a title from Black Flag, and since the band seems poised for a Let It Be-like breakout, they probably couldn't have picked a better title.

The Success of Wicked and what it means for Chicago theater

The Trib ran an article today on the suprise success of Wicked in Chicago, and stated that the fact that the show didn't head to Los Angeles is an immense victory for Chicago theater. I'm not so sure of that.

While, as a New Yorker, I realize that success in theater in America is equivalent to success in New York, I have seen a creative energy in the theaters of Chicago that simply isn't there to the same extent anymore in New York. The Chicago model for theater, where small theater companies pop up all over the place and each one has the potential to rise to prominence, is one of the greatest, most unique attributes to Chicago culture. While I realize that this model does not equate to financial success, the fact that main focus of Chicago theater is off-Loop is tremendous, and unlike the Broadway-dominated New York.

Of course, the only reason this model for the city has survived was the insularity of Chicago theater, a status largely maintained by the lack of a huge, successful mega-hit on the Loop. Now that is not the case, as Wicked, a play that opened to mix reviews in New York despite its immense success, could very well become the most successful play in Chicago history. This success could have the effect of increasing the emphasis on Loop theater, and consequently, make sure something like the rise of the Steppenwolf never happens again.

Obviously, as a New Yorker my concerns do not lie in Chicago's natural bias towards the invasion of New York. Instead, I've seen how the development of the blockbuster Broadway show has devastated the financial as well as the creative success of smaller New York theaters, and I don't want to see the same happen to Chicago.

Follow-up to yesterday's post

Today, Yahoo! News reported a study which confirms my suspicions that the video games industry have a larger potential market than their reputation would lead one to believe. According to the study, 31% of those over 21 prefer to pass a free hour playing video games instead of watching TV, and 35% prefer video games to going to the movies. One of the most striking details is that for women over 40, the numbers jump to 49% for preferring video games to movies and 37% for video games to television.

These video games, of course, are not the kind played on a console, but of the Snood variety--free downloadble games that are relatively simple but quite addictive. Anyone who's been in an office with secretaries can tell you that there is an unruly amount of Solitare on the office computers, but with the rise of these new downloadable games, the line between Solitare-like games and traditional video games is becoming increasingly blurred.

This unmentioned market is what Nintendo is desperate to grab with the Wii, but it's a market to which Microsoft and Sony are fairly indifferent. It'll be interesting to see how the next generation of consoles pans out, as I think video games are at a crossroads that at the moment only Nintendo recognizes.

Video Games self-image

The New York Times ran an article today on the state of the public image of video games in the United States. The article argued that, unlike in Japan, playing video games is not considered normal adult behavior, and stated that the video game industry has cornered itself into an image of socially awkward teen males playing an X-Box alone in his room.

I strongly believe that video games will eventually be recognized as a valid art form. The pattern of the development of video games is almost exactly identical to that of film and comic books in the first half of the 20th century. Each developed a rabid young male following before parent watchdog groups eventually censor the medium into obscurity for a few decades. Film started to become a valid medium in the '90s, and the same transformation is happening to the graphic novel at the moment.

Sony and Microsoft are primarily responsible for the modern image, as they have mined a market that, although profitable in the short term, can't be maintained in the long run. That's why Nintendo has remained the most innovative, albeit most stubborn, video game company in the world, and I'm deeply excited to see how the Wii develops, as the Wii is the first real attempt to break video games out of the under-25 male market.

Charlie Kaufman sighting

After Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we haven't heard much about new projects coming from Charlie Kaufman. Today, Cinematical reports that Kaufman, who must now be considered the dean of Hollywood screenwriters, is apparently planning to make his directorial debut. The film, titled Synechdote, features Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a troubled playwright with various problems with women. One of those women will be played by Michelle Williams.

While the feature at first seems immensely exciting, keep in mind that Kaufman's screenplays could have translated to disastrous movies if he didn't have the help of talented directors. Spike Jonze has been masterful at Kaufman's more chaotic screenplays, and Michael Gondry has been equally impressive at Kaufman's more emotionally driven works.

All I can say is that Kaufman better sign on an excellent editor, and if he lacks the confidence around a movie set like his character did in Adaptation, the film may be more dissapointing than it initially seems.

World Trade Center

According to the BBC, World Trade Center, which opened Wednesday night, made $4.4 millon it's first day in theaters, and could continue to make up to $20 million this weekend, despite the recent terrorism threat. I feel a little disguisting mentioning the box office numbers for the film; I feel that way in general when I even hear about marketing or revenue or expected gross when referenced to this movie. While I obviously know that 9/11 is something Hollywood, like every other artistic forum, must eventually address, any time the financial matter is mentioned I can't help avoiding the notion of exploitation.

Furthermore, it seems that critics, as usual, are having a hard time being critical of the movie due to its subject matter. I can't say until I see the movie whether the praise is justified, but even the best critics, such as A.O. Scott and Peter Travers, have been avoiding being critical even while pointing out the movie's flaws. Once again Kenneth Turan stakes his case as being the most honest and eloquent critic in the U.S. with his criticism of the film:

It's taken the Hollywood system five years to come up with a major motion picture about what happened at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, but if you think that time was used for thoughtful introspection and careful analysis about the best way to approach those agonizing and unprecedented events, you just don't know Hollywood.

What that time has gone into instead is making the story of Sept. 11 fit as closely as possible into the business-as-usual norms of sentimental studio moviemaking. The problem is not so much that "World Trade Center" is an attempt to make a feel-good movie about a ghastly situation, it's that the result feels forced, manufactured and largely — but not entirely — unconvincing.

The New Yorker has not yet published its review. Unfortunately, since Anthony Lane wrote film reviews in the most recent New Yorker issue, it looks like David Denby will review World Trade Center. Let's hope he takes that he breaks from the norm and takes time to discuss the film itself as opposed to discussing David Denby.

Armistead Maupin Lives!

I was just goofing off, looking up my favorite authors on Wikipedia the other day, when I stumbled upon the Armistead Maupin entry. I was shocked to see a ninth book listed in his bibliography: the forthcoming Michael Tolliver Lives!

You mean Michael Tolliver, the irrepressible hero of Maupin's Tales of the City series, is back? Yep, according to Maupin's interview with The Advocate. While he stops short of referring to it as the seventh Tales book, he does admit that he "originally said that [he] would not have any of the other characters from Tales in the new book, but some of them have crept in." Think of cameos like DeDe and D'orothea's daughter, Anna, popping up as Gabriel Noone's assistant in The Night Listener.

I recently picked up a vintage copy of Tales at A Room of One's Own bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin. Sure, most of the references are dated (Weejuns, poppers, Whitman's Samplers), but the story holds up as strongly as ever.

The Advocate asks Maupin what new author has grabbed his attention, and he talks about Josh Kilmer-Purcell, author of the memoir I Am Not Myself These Days. While I'm sure that's great, it reminds me how many queer works these days are autobiographical. There's Alison Bechdel's Fun Home; Edmund White's My Lives; the works of Augusten Burroughs. Where's the great new queer fiction? Perhaps, more to the point, where are the new Armistead Maupins?

With Babycakes in (delayed) development at Showtime and Robin Williams starring in The Night Listener at the multiplex, this is a busy time for Maupin. He is an icon in the queer community, and rightfully so. Even though I found his last work of fiction to be a slight disappointment, I'll be the first in line to buy Michael Tolliver Lives! at the bookstore.

I'm not sure about that exclamation point, though.

My Space and DoubleClick: Forces of evil?

Never mind their ownership by Newscorp. Never mind their recent gigantic contract with Google. The real reason to hate Myspace at the moment is their most recent foray into obscene pop up advertising. According to Defamer (from where the picture was taken), Myspace has been running this ad in their pop up cycle. The most disturbing thing is, of course, that the yes button is selected, suggesting that the popular sentiment is to ignore Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism. Part of me has to wonder at this point whether the Passion succeeded through America's love of Christ or through its love of celebrity gossip. At this point, I'm leading towards the latter.

The Emmys are a Joke

As if anyone needed more proof of the uselessness of the Emmy awards, The Globe and Mail of Toronto reported today that the television academy's nominating procedures have come under serious fire after Ellen Burstyn was nominated for best supporting actress for a 14-second role in the HBO movie Mrs. Harris. According to the article, nominations are given by a popular vote withinin the academy, which does not require its voters to view every work submitted for nomination (the committee who votes for the award is required to view the work of the nominees).

Burstyn, then, was nominated largely due to her name recognition from films like The Exorcist and Requiem for a Dream, not by her role in the HBO movie, where she appeared in one flashback scene and uttered a total of 38 words.

While all the award shows are in at least some ways corrupt, the Emmys may still take the cake. One may remember the 2000 Emmys, where, despite competing with the first season of The Sopranos, the critically maligned show The Practice won the best drama award. That was in conjuction with Ally McBeal winning the best comedy award, both produced by television academy product David E. Kelley.

Now, when this clearly absurd nomination is recognized, the only suggestion being made is adding a minimum screen time requirement for potential nominees. No one would dare suggest that actors be nominated for, y'know, their actual performance.

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood

One of the embarrassing things I've learned to embrace about myself is my unironic love for young adult (YA) fiction. I hope to parlay this into a lucrative career one day, but until then I remain obsessed with the collective oeuvre of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Ann M. Martin, and Ann Brashares.

Brashares's fascinating, flawed "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series is a personal favorite. I especially recommend the second book over the mediocre movie. You may need to read them to know what the hell I'm talking about in this post. I already went to sisterhoodcentral.com to vote for Chicago as a destination on her upcoming book tour, and you should, too.

The jacket description of "Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood" from Amazon.com, with my commentary. Pub date is January 2007.

"With unraveled embroidery and fraying hems, the Traveling Pants are back for one last, glorious summer."

Uh-oh. They retire the Pants after this book. Better be good.

"Lena: Immerses herself in her painting and an intoxicating summer fling, fearing that the moment she forgets about Kostos will be the moment she sees him again."

She will run into him again. Non-negotiable. But do you think they'll get back together? I hope not. I hated how Bridget "got back together" with Eric. That was so unrealistic. Like the older guy who coerces you into losing your virginity will really fall in love with you!

"Carmen: Falls under the spell of a sophisticated college friend from whom a theatrical role means everything and the heritage of the Pants means nothing."

Boring. Snore. So she'll learn a lesson about how your friends are more important than your boyfriend.

"Bridget: Joins a dig for an ancient city on the coast of Turkey" (yeah, right) "and discovers that her archaeology professor is available is every way except one."

I totally don't get this one. "Available in every way except one"? Which way? Sexually? Isn't that a good thing? I'd love it if Bee fucked her professor, though. You know she would. Because dead mother = nymphomania.

"Tibby: Leaves behind someone she loves, wrongly believing he will stay where she has left him."

Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise for Tibby and Brian. As if his transformation from geek to chic wasn't unbelievable enough (yay! he took off his glasses!), now we have to believe he'll bang some chick who's not Tibby?

"Join Ann Brashares's beloved sisterhood once again in a dazzling, fearless novel. It's a summer that will forever change the lives of Lena, Carmen, Bee, and Tibby, here and now, past and future, together and apart."

So...wait. Who's going to narrate the first chapter this time? Carmen narrated the first book, and I think Tibby narrated the third, but for some reason I can't remember if Lena or Bridget did the second. Probably Bridget, with her whole Alabama storyline, but I'm not sure. So whose book is it? I hope it's Lena, because I think Brashares sees herself the most in that character, so the writing will be better.

And you know, despite my bitching, I am soooo psyched.

Hilarious Onion article

I nearly fell out of my chair when I read this one. Enjoy!

New Oliver Stone 9/11 Film Introduces 'Single Plane'
Theory
August 8, 2006
NEW YORK—Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone said Monday that his new film World Trade Center unveils "compelling and controversial" new evidence that a single plane was responsible for all four collisions in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

"There's no way anyone can ever deny there was only one plane."

"Get ready to go through the looking glass here, people," Stone told reporters at a Manhattan press conference before an advance screening of the movie, which premieres Wednesday. "The film you are about to see is going to blow the lid off the 9/11 Commission's official report and expose a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government."

World Trade Center, which stars Nicolas Cage as a dedicated Port Authority officer who stumbles on secret evidence amid the rubble and carnage of the terrorist attack, tells a story quite different from what Stone called "the official government line" about the event. According to the film, at 8:46 a.m., a lone commercial airliner flew diagonally through the North Tower of the World Trade Center, maintained in a circular holding pattern for approximately 17 minutes, then struck the South Tower before heading to the Pentagon

After its collision with the center of American military operations, the so-called "magic plane"—which variously and ingeniously identified itself to air-traffic controllers as "American Airlines Flight 11," "United