Category Archives: Movies

Ronni Chasen Murder Only Gets Stranger…

ah Hollywood

Since the horrible news of the murder of publicist Ronni Chasen last month, I was struck by some similarities between her death and a script I had written originally in the late 1990s, concerning a rivalry between a publicist and a reporter that ends with, well, a murder.

Except that in my script (The Lourdes Kelly Story), it was the reporter who got killed, not the publicist. But still, weird. Now, today, I’m reading about the related shooting last night and see that some of the speculation surrounding Chasen’s death have to do with possible art fraud.

OK. OK. Since the co-conspirator in my fictional story is an art world conman (boyfriend of the publicist), I’m thinking this whole thing is just really too strange.

Check out the logline and synopsis of The Lourdes Kelly Story from 2005:

Logline: The Lourdes Kelly Story is a contemporary dark comedy about a Hollywood publicity diva who, when faced with an imminent, disastrous news report about her boss, is forced to protect him and her reputation from her arch rival, Hollywood’s top female reporter.

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Nosy Paula’s subsequent investigation finds Kevin implicated in an art world con-job, leading to lies, attempted cover-ups and ending with her murder at the Holocaust attraction on its opening night. So, it turns out not only Lourdes benefits from Paula being dead. Closing in, local law enforcement and Paula’s protégé at the paper struggle to solve the crime. With Lourdes about to lose her job, her new boyfriend, and possibly face incarceration, Lourdes’ unlikely assistant is arrested for the murder.

Successfully ruining all those around her with clever and precise manipulation, Lourdes Kelly gets away with murder, emerging stronger than ever as a force to be reckoned with.

—————————-

Of course, I wrote this loosely based on composite characters I’d worked with for years in Hollywood public relations. I tried to shop it around town a bit, but at the time it didn’t seem anyone was interested in insider-Hollywood-backstage kind of stories.

The conman was based on someone real, however, and I’ll write about him tomorrow.

The Lives of Others

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FppW5ml4vdw[/youtube]

‘Tis that weird season of consumerism…. just when I was feeling all thankful and shit come all the media reports of Black Friday and idiots camping out on Thanksgiving and pushing and shoving and stampeding their way into the modern Palaces of Worship we call The Mall, The Wal-Mart, the Target, the Nordstrom Northgod, etc.

There’s a better way. Here’s something called Buy Nothing Day. That’s right, you don’t have to be part of the herd, there’s no law that says you gotta buy into the soul-killing retail crapathon, conveniently and cynically tied to ancient times of religious and seasonal celebration. Instead, you might spend some time with your friends and family, out in nature, or reading, making love, sleeping, dreaming – all of which are probably free or at most, very low cost.
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Or, if you need another suggestion, let me offer The Lives of Others, a wonderful German film from 2006, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and a multitude of other awards. Starring Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck and Sebastian Koch, it was written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who I think should probably get an award just for his name.

Seriously, I found this movie surprisingly and delightfully uplifting, taking me totally by surprise. Also, I think it’s important to remember how recent the totalitarian government in much of Europe was. So take the chance and invest the two hours in something that will make you feel just great – all the while avoiding traffic, parking lots, rude people, screaming children, agita, and tons of worthless junk you won’t remember in a year.

Homophobe Hip-Hop Star Gets Movie Funding!

Link to: Hedge Fund runs pics with Cheetah – Entertainment News, Music News, Media – Variety.

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson

I was dismayed to see this trade story about homophobe Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson getting some funding to make more movies starring, well, himself.

In case you missed it, Jackson has been taken to task for his hip-hop homophobia, including tweeting “If you a man and your over 25 and you don’t eat pu**y just kill your self damn it. The world will be a better place. Lol” to his followers after the recent slew of gay teen suicides. (Read Papermag post, or another piece on homophobic hip-hop from Pulp).

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If you look at the movies this guy is connected with, you’ll notice title words like “kill,” “die,” “gun,” and “.44.” I’m detecting a pattern here.

One of his new movie partners says, “the thing about ’50 Cent’ is that, just like in his music career, he isn’t someone who sits around and waits for things to get done…”

Apparently not. He looks to be front and center and real direct with the hate. It hasn’t gone unnoticed, asshole.

Shame on these guys – Randall Emmett, George Furla, Richard Jackson, Gary Sakwa and Daniel Ret, as well as Lionsgate for distributing. You couldn’t find a less hate-filled action star? Give me a break.

50 Cent? More like penny-ante, if you ask me.

Lost Tribes of New York City video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sRZJAIkhMo]

I’m taking a day off from railing about bullying, republican and tea party hypocrisy, or anything else in our bizarrely decaying world, to just appreciate something fun.

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Enjoy Lost Tribes of New York City. Now, exhale and close your eyes.

Universal Under Pressure Changing "Gay" Trailer For Ron Howard-Vince Vaughn Pic ‘The Dilemma’

Nikke Finke’s post on: Universal Under Pressure Changing “Gay” Trailer For Ron Howard-Vince Vaughn Pic ‘The Dilemma’.

Good for you, Anderson!

Anderson Cooper

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Slap me.

There’s a lot of truth in that using these words to mean something negative has resonance far beyond the mere calling of something “uncool,” and it makes associations that extend to people, real people. I know L.A. has had a campaign for awhile now to eliminate the use of that word in schools; considering real life consequences, it only makes sense that one of the region’s huge employers gets with the program.

Two Lane Blacktop – far friggin' out, man!

“I could suck you into my tailpipe!”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKcIGPQST9s]

I enjoyed this tale of existential angst and otherwise mostly aimless drifting, in 1971 pre-Walmart big box store America, where when you pulled up in a gas station you still got full service at every pump.

The plot revolves around two hippie-like drag racer guys (James Taylor, Dennis Wilson) who challenge an “older” establishment kind of guy (Warren Oates) to a race to see who can get to D.C. first. Whoever does, gets the pink slips of both cars.

There is a girl involved (Laurie Bird). She’s kind of free-spirited hippie chick, though to me she seemed depressed, almost catatonic at times, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why all three men were so desperate to get into those jeans. Something apparently I just didn’t see.

Some great lines, such as:
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“I just don’t need any distractions right now.” – Warren Oates to a cowboy hitchhiker who puts his hand on Warren’s thigh while he’s driving. (Meaning, it would be OK under other circumstances? YES!)

The movie proves that Denim and its incarnation into 501s is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Dennis Wilson, studly and hairy – maybe not as musically talented as his brother Brian, but majorly sexy. Both men sport straggly over the collar but not quite to the shoulder length hair. Love it.

This is an America with a curious lack of consumerism, where there’s no need to fill up every nanosecond with outside stimulation.

James Taylor as actor: best not to quit dayjob, and you didn’t, so wise choice, Mister!

The hitchhiker girl has a great big white furry purse. Maybe that’s what the boys are really after. I want one!

HBO’s Temple Grandin, an Emmy-winning biopic

Claire Danes as Temple Grandin

Watched the DVD of Temple Grandin over the weekend. A biopic, it reminded me initially of A Beautiful Mind, Ron Howard’s bio movie of John Nash starring Russell Crowe. It seemed, however, more heartfelt? Perhaps having something to do with the focus on a young person trying to find herself in the world – so it is a rising up rather than a falling apart (of someone who had already made it) as in the case of A Beautiful Mind.

Filmmakers using the medium to really tell the story, with mathematical animations (I think Beautiful Mind had these too) and stills montages of thinking processes were helpful in understanding autism – as explained in the movie, understanding the world from pictures, not from language.

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One thing I would have loved seen explored is the whole idea of whether or not raising beef for food is a good idea at all – it’s taken as a given by the characters in the movie, which is a period piece (although a recent period). As a near vegetarian and avid reader of Michael Pollan, it’s hard not to think of this when watching all these cows.

Go rent the movie or watch it on HBO. It’s pretty wonderful.

More from ShortFest: Wagah and Glenn Close’s Pax

Last in the series of short films I happened to see, now months ago (well, it was June and I’ve been busy) at the Palm Springs ShortFest that I liked. Both films (both docs) tie into a war theme, though neither explicitly.

Wagah

Still from Wagah

This is an award-winning short from Germany (Supriyo Sen) that shows the ceremonial changing of the guard at the India/Pakistan border. It’s part state ceremony, part street festival, part dance performance. Pilgrims (tourists?) from each side come to sit in bleachers and watch the spectacle. For me, this reinforces the power of music, dance, spectacle and athletics to bring people closer together. If these two countries can find joy on the border, who knows what might happen?
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Pax

A documentary by Glenn Close and Sarah Harvey about a dog (Pax) – trained in a prison program at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women – to be a companion for an Iraq war veteran who was disabled with brain injuries and PTSD. It shows the remarkable capacity animals have to affect us, not the least of which is bringing together humans who couldn’t be more apart on the social strata. Not a dry eye in the house – you know, kids and dogs do it every time.

Pax

Two Subway Shorts: Touch and Subway Harmonies

Also from the Palm Springs ShortFest, two little movies that take place in the subway. In the 20 minutes inclusive that these films inhabit, there’s some serious emotional landscapes we cross with the female protagonists.

In “Touch,” (Jen McGowan, 2010) two women meet on the subway. The first woman we see is middle-aged, and appears worried or distraught. She’s too close to the platform edge. We’re worried for her. A chatty young woman joins her. She seems self-absorbed, anxious about the job interview she’s headed to. Will she understand what the stakes are for the older woman, right then and there, as we hear the ominous sounds of the train approaching?

still from Touch

Touch review

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In “Subway Harmonies,” (Leah Cameron, Canada, 2010) a fellow traveler has a secret. And it’s an amazing, fabulous one that slowly unfolds to us as we see her otherwise mundane Toronto day. Like Cinderella or the ugly duckling turning into the swan, Mrs. Wong transcends the ordinary to enrich us all.

still from Subway Harmonies

Subway Harmonies

Cohen on the Bridge: Rescue at Entebbe

Back to shorts I liked from ShortFest, part of the Palm Springs International Film Festivals.

“Cohen on the Bridge” refers to someone who arrives to save you from certain death. It’s a quirky phrase that means a great deal personally to the family of filmmaker Andrew Wainrib, who had relatives saved by one European “Cohen on the Bridge” during World War II.

This short is a black and white computer animated documentary about the 1976 Entebbe rescue, where Israeli Jews were held hostage at the airport in Uganda. This is a true life guns and planes hero story, better than any summer blockbuster because it’s true. The film builds so well, it had me on the edge of my seat for all 21 minutes. I also loved how the filmmaker personalized the story and brought us back at the end to the importance of “Cohen on the Bridge” and, by extension, that we all have Cohens in our lives. See it if you get a chance. The technology to do this is awesome. Here’s a video on the making of the film.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy4KTF3tAG8]

Cohen on the Bridge website