"Since I last blogged at you, life has brought wackness and dopeness in equal measure. Barnabas, my copilot and set buddy, died in July. It was sudden and devastating. I miss my little gentleman terribly.In much happier news, my brilliant friend Lorene Scafaria debuted her first film, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist at the Toronto Film Festival. I've noticed a fistful of assholes on IMDB are accusing this movie of being a Juno copycat. Perhaps the marketing folks at Sony are unlikely Juno-philes (yes, we've all seen that hand-lettered font before) but N&N is based on a popular book and was filmed months before Juno was released. Also, it's nothing like Juno, unless a smart female protagonist is enough of an anomaly to warrant comparison. (Jesus, I hope not.) Anyway, see the movie on October 3. It is like, classic good. I am so proud of Lorene.Bend thine ear:
I am not Charlie Kaufman or Sofia Coppola (much as I supplicate at their Cannes-weary feet.) I'm not Paul Thomas Anderson. I'm not even Paul W.S. Anderson. I am middle-class trash from the Midwest. I'm a competent nonfiction writer, an admittedly green screenwriter, and a product of Hollywood, USA. I am "Diablo Cody" and if you're not a fan, go rent Prospero's Books again and leave me the fuck alone.
I may have won 19 awards that you don't feel I earned, but it's neither original nor relevant to slag on Juno. Really. And you're not some bold, singular voice of dissent, You are exactly like everyone else in your zeitgeisty-demo-lifestyle pod. You are even like me. (I, too, loved Arrested Development! Aren't we a pretty pair of cultural mavericks? Hey, let's go bitch about how Black Kids are overrated!)
I'm sorry that while you were shooting your failed opus at Tisch, I was jamming toxic silicon toys up my ass for money. I get why you're bitter. I took exactly one film class in college and-- with the curious exception of the Douglas Sirk unit—it bored the shit out of me. I also once got busted for loudly crinkling a bag of Jujubes during a classroom screening of Vivre Sa Vie. I don't deserve to be here. We've established that. But I'm here. Five million 12-year-olds think I'm Buck Henry. Accept it.Listen: I've been telling stories my whole life. Even when I was a phone sex operator, I was the Mark Twain of extemporaneous jerk-off fiction. I took every perspiring creep on a fucking journey. I don't know how to do anything else.
I'm going to make more movies and shows. I doubt they'll all be good, but that's the nature of this life. Even though the public only knows me from one book, one movie, and several aborted blogs, I've spent the last few years hustling like Iceberg Slim out here to prove myself professionally. The people I currently work for, and with, are more than pleased with my post-Juno output. My pilot was so good (thanks, Toni Colette!) that it got picked up for series. That is rare, children. That is blue-rare.
In summation: you try it.
This is the last I have to say on the subject, unless I'm provoked by a journalist in which case I'll gladly reload. With relish, as Betty Rizzo might say. That said, I'm a 30-year-old woman with a dwindling interest in blog culture, and I don't have time to address this bullshit every time one of my projects comes out. I'm in love, I just bought a house, and my boss made E.T. I kind of have to focus on reality". Source: blog.myspace.com
"If you don't already know his name, memorise it now, because Newark's Toby Kebbell seems set to become an A-list film star and a household name. Having cut his teeth on Dead Man's Shoes, Alexander and Match Point, he's currently starring in the title role in Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla. Soon to appear in Cheri alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and The Prince of Persia with Jake Gyllenhaal, the former Carlton Television Workshop student speaks exclusively to Jo Roberts about fame, women, family – and giving Michelle Pfeiffer a rub down.
Where are you living and working at the moment?
In London, working on The Prince of Persia. After RockNRolla I was out of work for 11 months, to shoot down the idea of the glamour. Then I was in Morocco for two and a half months learning to ride on a horse and fight with an axe for the Prince of Persia, but these big projects go on and on, so I'm shooting at Pinewood now. My co-star Jake (Gyllenhaal) is a lovely fella. He's been training hard and pumping iron; he's all about doing his acting right. It's more like doing a marathon than it is like acting, you're delivering these lines that are a bit obscure and you wouldn't normally say like (adopts OTT theatrical voice) 'The mystical dagger of time is going to save us all!' So it's a tricky one, but Jake's got the bull by the horns. We sat around and had a bite to eat a couple of times. He's a typical Yanky chap. Is there any truth in the rumour that you're dating Gemma Arterton, your co-star in both RockNRolla and The Prince if Persia?
No. I wasn't in any scenes with Gemma and we weren't on set together at any time, but we did spend time learning to horse ride together for The Prince... The press love to whack out a story and that's fair enough, but my girlfriend, Ruzwana, was a bit miffed about it. She's a lovely girl and, of course, she's upset when someone says you're having an affair out in Egypt, but I'd never been to Egypt so she knew it wasn't true. [...]
You've starred in films with Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johanson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jake Gyllenhaal. Do you feel like you've made it now, or do you want to become a household name yourself?
It would be lovely to be a legend of the screen. I don't know if I'll ever get there; you've got to thank your lucky stars and say 'I've been blessed for where I've got to'. I'm at a lovely place now, I'm very happy. I don't have to paint walls or serve tables, I just get to act professionally. But if I go back there, then that's what'll happen. It would be heart breaking. I've not achieved what I want to achieve, I have my own big aspirations. I'd love to be considered a very versatile actor like Alec Guinness, a man who can play many, many parts. I'd love to do a 1920s gangster flick with trenchcoats, trilby hats and tommy guns, but I'd also love to do a Western. I'm doing Prince of Persia at the minute so I'm riding horses and am very lucky to be doing an action film, but I still have lots of dreams".
"Peter Sarsgaard on the Group Insanity That Settled Over the Cast: Director Sam Mendes says there definitely was a kind of shared insanity that affected the cast during the filming of “Jarhead.” Asked to share a personal example of what Mendes was referring to, Sarsgaard said, “I keep telling them about other people, but Jake reminded me of one that I did. I wasn't drinking for the first half of the movie because I was trying to get fit quickly, because for 'Flightplan,' I kind of didn't care what physical shape I was in. It's not like I gained weight for the movie, but sometimes I'll lose weight for a movie. I had a couple margaritas... Jake started drinking beer at that point and I had some margaritas, maybe only two or three. And there was a thing that was like a fountain in the middle of the courtyard. We're staying at this not-very-nice hotel that had like a fountain and it looked like it could be a pool, but it was not actually a swimming pool. And he says I finished my margarita and I put it down. He said he was in mid-conversation with me and he said I just walked over to the edge of the pool and with all my clothes on, just walked into the pool and went underwater for a little bit and then came up and walked into my room totally wet. And he said he was in the middle of talking to me about something. So that actually happened, I realized, and I sort of blocked it out”. Source: movies.about.com
"Weil's designs have been worn by all kinds of celebrities from Clarke Gable to Matthew McConaughey. The Rockmount pearl snap was even the shirt of choice for Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal on the set of Brokeback Mountain. We figured it was Wrangler.
Apparently, he managed to reach the ripe old age of 107. We wonder if he followed the Ernest Borgnine fountain of youth method? Source: www.stylelist.com
"Brokeback Mountain, before it is any other thing, is essentially a pastoral, a hymm to the outdoors and the outdoor life and living in a tent with the one you love, surrounded by the rugged beauty of the craggy mountains all around.Ledger and Gyllenhall are (after a fashion) the spiritual descendants of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call, mourning a diminished frontier and seeking to leave civilization behind". Source: txreviews.com
A musical video featuring images Michael Cera in "Arrested Development", "Clark & Michael", "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" interview, etc., and the songs "Just a kid" and "Someday Soon" by Wilco.
Reese has been chosen as one of the Ten Best Dressed of 2007 according to People Magazine.
THE SOPHISTICATE
2007 brought out the best in Reese Witherspoon. From her spectacular Nina Ricci gown at the Oscars to her simple black ensembles on the streets of L.A., this mother of two shows us less is definitely more. Source: www.people.com
BEST STRAPLESS Reese Witherspoon showed that single is sexy in her yellow Nina Ricci dress at the Golden Globes. Source: www.people.com
KIRSTEN DUNST The fashion-forward star took a misguided look back with a vintage gown and flowered headband at the Met Costume Institute Gala in New York City in May. Source: www.people.com
A musical video featuring images of "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist", starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, and the song "I'm always in love" by Wilco.
"Since I last blogged at you, life has brought wackness and dopeness in equal measure. Barnabas, my copilot and set buddy, died in July. It was sudden and devastating. I miss my little gentleman terribly.
In much happier news, my brilliant friend Lorene Scafaria debuted her first film, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist at the Toronto Film Festival. I've noticed a fistful of assholes on IMDB are accusing this movie of being a Juno copycat. Perhaps the marketing folks at Sony are unlikely Juno-philes (yes, we've all seen that hand-lettered font before) but N&N is based on a popular book and was filmed months before Juno was released. Also, it's nothing like Juno, unless a smart female protagonist is enough of an anomaly to warrant comparison. (Jesus, I hope not.) Anyway, see the movie on October 3. It is like, classic good. I am so proud of Lorene.
Bend thine ear:
Listen: I've been telling stories my whole life. Even when I was a phone sex operator, I was the Mark Twain of extemporaneous jerk-off fiction. I took every perspiring creep on a fucking journey. I don't know how to do anything else.
