This Savage Art

Every man needs a website. Check out his Writings section for film criticism.

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The 30 Second 80th Academy Awards Hangover Edition Obligatory Post Rundown:

• Miley Ray Cyrus enters the coliseum. We are one incremental step closer to the end.
• Jon Stewart, witty stuff, good job. Classy move giving the Once singer/songwriter Marketa Irglova a chance to say her piece after being rudely ushered offstage by the music cue cut-off.
• Diablo Cody wins “Best Original Screenplay.” Where does her fairy tale career go from here?
• No memoriam dedication to actors Brad Renfro and Roy Scheider. I don’t care about the dates covered. Bad taste!
• Bardem takes the Supporting Actor award for playing “some expressionless guy who goes around blowing shit up.” More>
• Plainview drinks the Academy’s milkshake. Now we can all officially stop referencing “that” scene.
• Introduced by Marty, the Coen Brothers take home a couple of little golden men in their usual aloof demeanor.

Overall analysis: yawn.

Related: What’s really going down at the Independent Spirit Awards.

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The inaugural Doorpost Film Project will set you up. Check it out.

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Get your chainsaw on. Release date set for November 2008.

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[Sorry, I had to say it. I'm a little late on this one but it's still worth noting.]

Whether he was chugging chum off the Orca, dancing to save his life or keeping Popeye Doyle from cracking skulls, Roy Scheider was the one of the great everyman actors. The last film I saw him in was Klute where he played the slick, meat locker cool pimp Frank Ligourin.

Roy Scheider was 75. Check out his roles in film and television and see how an old pro did it.

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New York magazine talks to Man Push Cart director Ramin Bahrani about his new film Chop Shop.

Related: Filmmaker Magazine interview.

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Anthony Kaufman writes about the new “wave” of films that fight the good fight but are still, as always, in an uphill battle for box office.

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Sorry HD-DVD. Time to die.

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[I decided to pull this post out of the sidebar because I wanted to add some more to it.]

Michael Clayton writer/director gets beyond the mechanics of screenwriting and to heart of the matter – imagination [via GreenCine - added podcast.] The podcast itself is a nice little film school compacted into a half an hour program hosted by the always enjoyable Elvis Mitchell. What I like about it is its a real inside take on the process of filmmaking from a doer. Not to take anything away from anyone. I’m a doer. You might be a doer. What I mean is he’s a pro writer turned director who isn’t talking out of his ass like some guru who has never been in the trenches. The real trenches. Twenty years of grinding it out only to emerge now with a project that is getting much attention. When I saw it in the theater all I kept thinking was how much I wanted to read the screenplay [you can download a PDF here.]

I attended a Script to Screen event that the IFP hosted around 2000-01(?) and Gilroy spoke with Raymond De Felitta about screenwriting. It was early on in his career and he was coming off Proof of Life. I remember thinking “that is what a pro screenwriter sounds like.” The guy walked the walk. As you will gather from listening to the podcast you’ll get the idea that he’s worked on his share of questionable films but it’s also where he learned his craft and how to swim the political waters of Hollywood. You can see the culmination of all that in Michael Clayton. You can also see the early films of Alan J. Pakula in it too which is a plus in my book. It is a shame the film got buried amongst the muck early in the year because as far as what Hollywood is celebrating right now as Academy Award fare, this is as good as I’ve seen in a long time.

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We bitched, they listened. [more]

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