comment #1

Eloi Manning says ...

Well, there goes any hopes of Best Picture.

comment #2

arch451 says ...

I agree, unless there was risk of injury.

comment #3

Colin says ...

I think we all felt like she was running bare-foot despite what the shot suggests.

comment #4

LexG says ...

GOOD SUBJECT.

I don't know, considering the depths of QT's fetish, asking a beautiful actress you're clearly smitten with to risk injuring your favorite body part seems unlikely.

In other words, if you're an ass man, can you really picture yourself asking Melanie to be dragged by a horse over jagged rocks for VON STROHEIM REALISM?

comment #5

TL says ...

Then your completion insurance company representative would walk over, politely tap you on the shoulder, and say, "Um, Jeff von Stroheim, sorry, you can't risk one of your leads slicing her bare foot open on a rock or a root for no good reason. Melanie, go get your Nikes!"

comment #6

Scott Nye says ...

I never bought this line of thinking. It's over obsessive, IMDb trivia crap. It also totally disregards most classic films, as they were filmed in studios rather than on location. The characters would live in complete houses, not three-wall structures dammit! And they'd have ceilings!

comment #7

COCO says ...

Jeff, your call for a barefoot Shoshana is proper....
everything for the character.

comment #8

LexG says ...

Also have to say QT really blew it by not lingering more on Laurent; The Kruger bits border on fetish porn, but the infinitely hotter Laurent only gets like 10 seconds of from-a-distance foot action when she's a corpse. MAJOR oversight, I usually expect more from Tarantino.

Though Death Proof was just overkill, to where it just got EMBARRASSING, almost every shot with someone's giant feet in the lens... Like, show some moderation, dude.

comment #9

George Prager says ...

What's next? Are we going to find out that Zed wore a condom?

comment #10

Rich S. says ...

TL is spot on. As I recall, this shot only showed her from the waist up. Who cares what she was wearing on her feet? Alan Ladd's costars used to stand in a ditch, for pete's sake. It's freakin' Hollywood, land of illusion.

comment #11

Eloi Manning says ...

"Jeff, your call for a barefoot Shoshana is proper....
everything for the character."

Yeah, and that pussy Waltz should have allowed Pitt to carve a swastika in his head for real.

comment #12

bluefugue says ...

This is nuts. Her wearing sneakers has no impact on the shot. That's an immaculately directed sequence and for Jeff to second-guess QT's approach just smacks of petty sniping.

comment #13

Jason says ...

I could tell she was wearing shoes. There was something ineffably inauthentic about her frantic and hysterical scramble for survival from being slaughtered by Nazis like her family. CLEARLY FAKE. Tarantino should just give up and use CGI next time.

comment #14

LexG says ...

Another point long as I'm ruling this thread like the Mighty Caesar to nobody's notice:

Any guy who doesn't dig feet is a guy without imagination. I don't even have a foot fetish, I don't get these dudes who are into them at the expense of other things or into trampling whatever that is.

But by and large, MEN WITH VISION appreciate hot chicks' feet. Think of how many directors are into feet. IT IS THE SIGN OF A GENIUS. BOW. Guys who are indifferent to things like hands and ears and kneecaps and feet and just go SHOW ME YOUR TITS are MEN WHO LACK IMAGINATION.

Be a man.

comment #15

CMed1 says ...

I think Laurent was sexy as hell in that flick, but to say she's infinitely hotter than Kruger I don't agree with. Kruger never looked better in any flick than she does in IB, and that's including Troy where she played Helen of Troy.

comment #16

LexG says ...

CMed: WICKER. PARK. Kruger's hottest.

comment #17

televisiontears says ...

This is only tangentially related, but I just found out that Jeremy Renner isn't disarming real bombs in Hurt Locker! Bigelow obviously doesn't care for the reality of the scene.

comment #18

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Are you sure there's an insert of the dirty feet? I've seen it twice and didn't notice this shot.

comment #19

LexG says ...

Budd...

There isn't.

comment #20

Ponderer says ...

Oh, what a bother this thread is. I'm reminded of Dustin Hoffman going for total method immersion in Marathon Man, not sleeping for days so he could get the emotion exactly right, and Olivier subsequently telling him, "Dear boy, why don't you just *act*?"

It's cardboard, smoke, mirrors and every sort of fake trickery. If the actors are in the right mental state, I don't care if they're wearing a SS uniform with a spacesuit helmet with flip-flops.

comment #21

LexG says ...

If I was Tarantino, I'd hire Megan Fox, K-Stew, Olivia Wilde, The Jessicas, Anne Hathaway, Swifty, McAdams, Tanitha Belbin, and Emma Roberts and make SLEEPOVER 2, where they braid their hair into pigtails and enjoy lollipops while barefoot then get in a GIANT PILLOW FIGHT, hopping up and down while THE SCIENTIST plays on the soundtrack and it goes on for 47 minutes. YEP YEP.

comment #22

LexG says ...

Oh, yeah, that chick from CHUCK too. She looks smoking hot in heels.

comment #23

York "Budd" Durden says ...

Lex, I didn't think so.

And I agree, even for a foot guy like me, in Death Proof QT kind of went overboard... esp. in the director's cut SPOILER ALERT when Stuntman Mike licks Rosario Dawson instep.

comment #24

bluefugue says ...

>It's cardboard, smoke, mirrors and every sort of fake trickery. If the actors are in the right mental state, I don't care if they're wearing a SS uniform with a spacesuit helmet with flip-flops.

Yup. Working filmmakers know that it's illusion from top to bottom and it's simply about getting the shot any which way you can. All this Von Stroheim hoo-ha sounds like the words of a poseur who doesn't have any actual experience making films.

The fact that Jeff feels betrayed by the behind-the-scenes production still only proves how irrelevant his point is, because obviously he was taken in by the illusion when he saw the film in the theater. It would make just as much sense to be upset to learn that there's a C-stand 3 feet to the left of Bogey during some iconic shot from Casablanca.

comment #25

teeem says ...

AND there's those trees on the right that are SO much closer where she could have hidden...! damn!

dear Mr Wells, there is a large list of reality-vs-film incidents that have probably disappointed you. you probably really felt let down when Brandon Lee didn't withstand that gunshot... he's supposed to be a superhero!

one also recalls the (apocryphal?) story about Dustin Hoffman on the set of Marathon Man... something about him not sleeping for days so as to be in character for one of his scenes, and Sir Larry, observing Hoffman's off-camera distress, advises "Try acting."

we all enjoy your take on the Hollywood scene, and we watch and hope you keep growing into this "true madman" that you admire.

comment #26

York "Budd" Durden says ...

I remember how upset I was when I found out the Death Star was just a miniature.

comment #27

LexG says ...

I WILL say this:

Foot doubles and hand doubles ARE bullshit.

comment #28

televisiontears says ...

We know you would, Lex. Jesus.

comment #29

York "Budd" Durden says ...

OMG... foot doubles. I just realized that it probably isn't Gwyneth Paltrow's foot turning the doorknob in Tannenbaums. Fuck.

comment #30

teeem says ...

yo, Ponderer! great minds may think alike, but you type faster.

comment #31

Krazy Eyes says ...

This is a supremely silly post . . . even for Jeff.

comment #32

DeeZee says ...

Jeff: It'd be believable if they just gave her regular boots.

Lex: "Think of how many directors are into feet. IT IS THE SIGN OF A GENIUS."

In QT's case, it's the sign of a hack.

teem: Um, he wasn't *supposed* to withstand the shots, since they were supposed to be blanks.

comment #33

gogocrank10 says ...

And yet, just for the sake of argument, whose acting style do you think will age better, the vaunted Olivier or the method Hoffman?I think we know the answer already. Then again, I'm not sure Hoffman could pull off Shakespeare short of a few select roles, so let's call it a wash.

Also, did you know "Basterds" used fake bullets? It's true! And the milk Waltz drinks in the beginning was pasteurized. Other than that, 100% real.

comment #34

Eloi Manning says ...

LexG: Turns out Fox is as DEMURE and INNOCENT as you'd have hoped! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/megan-fox-in-bazaar-ive-o_n_483701.html

comment #35

LexG says ...

YES.

I like my women like I like my martinis: Virginal.

comment #36

BRob says ...

Whilst engaged in the activity of destroying planets, the evil Grand Moff Tarkin wore fluffy, comfy slippers in his close and mid shots. The jackboots hurt Peter Cushing's feet. Not a new thing and won'ty go away. If it's outside the frame, it's not part of the illusion.

comment #37

Jason says ...

@gogocrank10: How do you think their performances will age? MARATHON MAN came out 34 years ago!

Both actors are aces in the movie. If it works, it works.

One of my favorite performances is Olivier in SLEUTH. He nails some line deliveries like Roger Federer hitting a tennis ball between his legs. Pure delight to hear. You don't always need boo-hoo-my-dog-died-when-I-was-five.

comment #38

Steven Kar says ...

They say Megan's toes are just like her thumbs.

comment #39

LexG says ...

Hoffman in Straight Time = best performance ever until K-Stew until Speak.

comment #40

Eloi Manning says ...

Hoffman has signed up to lead the Michael Mann/David Milch HBO series, Luck.

comment #41

larry braverman says ...

Yesterday you complained about a poster image that YOU cropped (rendering it's background unrecognizable) and blamed those responsible for the artwork, calling it 'bothersome'

Today you're 'betrayed' because an actress wore shoes while filming in a field, and reference a non-existent insert shot as some sort of ammunition for another pointless argument.

Lazy posts.

comment #42

BRob says ...

I don't really know why, but I've always had more admiration for actors who can just turn it on and off at will. Not to disparage the Method, though. As someone has said, if it works, it works.

comment #43

George Prager says ...

Has Lex weighed in on Megan Fox's club thumbs yet?

P.S. I agree with Wells 100%. She should've ran barefoot.

comment #44

LexG says ...

Fox's thumbs = HOT. Doesn't bother me in the least. She has great fingers in general.

And her toes are perfectly normal.

comment #45

DeeZee says ...

Eloi: What's really telling is she doesn't say whether or not it was at the same time.

George: http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/mmtoes.asp

comment #46

Jason says ...

@Prager Missed opportunity back there with your Zed/condom quip. BAREBACK.

What happened to Peter Greene? He was in two huge movies in 1994 and I can't think of anything else of note he's done after that.

comment #47

Bill Bomp Whomper says ...

Wells, if you couldn't dirty your hands changing a tire, Melanie needn't dirty her feet for a shot. This is childish. Go back to Mad Magazine and your fireworks.

comment #48

LuckyWilbury says ...

This is the second time Jeff has obsessed about this scene.

Last summer he was upset about Shosanna's running style. As I recall, he was peeved she didn't have the presence of mind to run towards the trees for cover.

At least she remembered to teleport her Nikes from the future and to lace them up.

comment #49

Gordn27 says ...

Jeff, there's something wrong with your website. I've been trying for five minutes to cut and paste the quote from Eli Roth about how they literally had to wear period underwear (among other things), and it won't let me.

For that matter, you're still by the Grand St. stop, right? Walk over to the high school that's right there. Talk to the track coach. Ask him to explain to you about how the capillaries in your foot are the easiest damaged blood vessels in the body, and how running barefoot is pretty much the stupidest thing you can do to your feet.

comment #50

Bill Bomp Whomper says ...

Wells doesn't know what capillaries are.

comment #51

George Prager says ...

I didn't know that Tarantino was Laurent's track and field coach. It was for a scene in a movie. I guess DE Niro should've wore a fat suit in RAGING BULL.

And how does this bare feet is bad for you thing explain Zola Budd?

comment #52

Gussie Fink-Nottle says ...

Gordn27 - I could name quite a few kenyans and ethiopians who spent many years running very long distances barefoot and still ended up putting their feet to pretty good use.

Still, I think barefoot would only be necessary if you didn't trust someone to fully invest in their character without making them more uncomfortable. As I recall on my one viewing she seemed to do pretty well despite those cushy running shoes cushioning her way out of shot.

comment #53

gogocrank10 says ...

Isn't it right that tons of African runners, in marathons and in the Olympics, at least train barefoot?

@Jason I just meant their two acting styles in general. Even in a lot of the Shakespeare stuff I'm not a huge fan of Olivier's capital "A" acting. I love actors who can turn it on and off at will, but those generally seem to be stage actors. Or at least, stagey. Then again, I wonder what folks like McKellan or Judi Dench or Anthony Hopkins think of the Method, though. Their staginess is so awesome and effortless it seems downright natural. Method staginess, maybe?

comment #54

mitchtaylor says ...

All this makes me wonder if those Mexcian fellas in Sierra Madre had badges after all.

comment #55

reverent and free says ...

Foot fetishes can be partly explained by the fact that sensations from feet and genitals are received in the same area of the brain, close enough that signals can overlap.

comment #56

Gordn27 says ...

Gussie - yes, perhaps I should have specified that the high school track coach's advice was limited to people who live in America and have spent their childhood years *not* walking around barefoot and developing thick skin on the bottom of their feet. I didn't realize that Melanie Laurent was raised by Aborigines.

comment #57

Gordn27 says ...

"I guess DE Niro should've wore a fat suit in RAGING BULL."

Well, if we're bringing up unrelated examples that aren't similar in any way, I guess Vic Morrow is glad his director thought like you.

comment #58

BurmaShave says ...

I'm hoping this thread goes to 200-300 before anyone realized Jeff had his tongue somewhat in cheek.

comment #59

reverent and free says ...

As to the topic, I agree with most of the posters who disagree with Jeff. Obviously if she had cut her feet or broke a toe that would be a hell of a waste just for a little more pressure on the actor. An actor should be able to act.

comment #60

Gordn27 says ...

"who live in America" -- yeah, that didn't need to be that specific, and probably doesn't apply to Laurent anyway. But, yes, I am maintaining that there are fundamental differences between the feet of adults who wore shoes as children and those who walked barefoot.

comment #61

Gordn27 says ...

Burma - that's what I figure too, I just thought the quote from Eli Roth specifying that everybody was forced to wear period-specific underwear would be a funny PS to it.

comment #62

bobbyperu says ...

Jeff, really? Think about what you are saying -- you're asking for realism in the shooting of...a Tarantino film? There's nothing remotely realistic about Tarantino's exercises in genres and artifice. He likely recommended she wear the shoes! Inglourious Basterds is the furthest thing from realism, from its overwritten dialogue to its revisionist climax.

comment #63

Gussie Fink-Nottle says ...

"I didn't realize that Melanie Laurent was raised by Aborigines."

Yes yes, fair point.

It was a grass fucking field though, not a New York street or nightclub floor at closing time. Reckon even the daintiest of feet ought to be be able to handle it.

comment #64

Gussie Fink-Nottle says ...

I'd like to point out for posterity that despite my support for barefoot field running, I totally agree with what bobbyperu just said.

comment #65

drbob says ...

"If I was Tarantino, I'd hire Megan Fox, K-Stew, Olivia Wilde, The Jessicas, Anne Hathaway, Swifty, McAdams, Tanitha Belbin, and Emma Roberts and make SLEEPOVER 2, where they braid their hair into pigtails and enjoy lollipops while barefoot then get in a GIANT PILLOW FIGHT, hopping up and down while THE SCIENTIST plays on the soundtrack and it goes on for 47 minutes. YEP YEP."

Here's you're problem LexG. You're so pathetic, you don't even include yourself in your own fantasies. Be a man, indeed.

comment #66

reverent and free says ...

Here's another question: is that really Laurent in the long shot of Shosana running out into the field framed by the doorway?

comment #67

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"Inglourious Basterds is the furthest thing from realism, from its overwritten dialogue to its revisionist climax."

You're really unable to decode movies, aren't you, Bobby Peru?

P.S. Wild at Heart blows.

comment #68

Bobby Cooper Superior says ...

Amazing thread. VON STROHEIM POWER!

comment #69

Travis Crabtree says ...

Every film mentioned in this thread is a masterpiece. Pure, cinematic perfection.

comment #70

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Especially Sleepover 2, which in 2012 will be the very first movie to ever win both the Oscar for Best Picture in addition to Maxim's Most Boner-iffic Flick of the Year.

comment #71

LexG says ...

Anyone interested in buying SLEEPOVER 2, hit me up on Twitter, I'll write that shit up by the weekend.

Might I also interest you in my sophomore slump dream project follow-up: Jonah Hill as MC Serch in "Back to the Grill Again," guaranteed to win him Best Actor 2012.

comment #72

DeeZee says ...

Gordon: "and how running barefoot is pretty much the stupidest thing you can do to your feet."

I don't think people had a choice back then, though.

comment #73

LexG says ...

Melanie Laurent + Feet = BOW. This is the greatest thread ever; I NEED to get famous so I can hang out with actresses and they can sit around on the couch with their feet on my cushions running lines and I'll be all YEP YEP.

Also want to point out we live in the GREATEST HISTORY OF TIME EVER, since women all walk around in fucking fetish heels and flip flops EVERYWHERE now. As opposed to when I was coming up in the eighties and chicks wore those JELLY SHOES and fucking REEBOX HIGH TOPS with SOCKS like Linda Hamilton or something.

The downside is, MEN think they can wear sandals. SOCKS AND SHOES, motherfucker.

If you're a man and you wear sandals, you deserve to be sent to Guantanamo.

Feet are a FEMALE BODY PART like ass cheeks or breasts.

comment #74

Gordn27 says ...

"I don't think people had a choice back then, though."

Nobody's talking about back then, the question is whether Melanie Laurent "should" have.

"It was a grass fucking field though"

Right, so she only had to worry about rocks and roots, as long as they're willing to put in the time to have the entire area combed over by PAs to make sure that nobody has broken any bottles or left any bottlecaps or, you know, stray garbage -- because I don't think insurance would cover it without that. On top of which, you can break the capillaries in your feet running barefoot on sand, let alone grass and dirt. It's a silly thing to be criticizing -- the point isn't that it's impossible to do, it's just pointless (even ignoring potentially hazardous) to spend an entire day running barefoot in a field when there's no reason to.

comment #75

DeeZee says ...

Best Actor prospects.
http://tinyurl.com/ylscbjy
Anyone wanna catch the Predators @ SXSW?
http://www.heatvisionblog.com/2010/03/predators-sneak-peek-set-for-sxsw.html
I stole that joke from http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/351752
Be a Nowhere Boy in Nashville.
http://tinyurl.com/yhee483
Congrats, Roger.
http://tinyurl.com/ygf7sdd
Honeycutt places his bets.
http://tinyurl.com/yg47vjf
R.I.P. Blockbuster.
http://tinyurl.com/y9cutko
Space Invaders: The Motion Picture.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16508/warners-making-a-space-invaders-film
The other Weitz brother sticks his finger in another pie.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16512/chris-weitz-talks-fourth-american-pie-
The next Fogey-ana Jones is closer to happening.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16504/ford-talks-fifth-indiana-jones-status
A lot of people will probably complain on their Live Journals about how awful their lives are now...
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16511/edgar-wright-on-scott-pilgrim-differences
Tron tv spin-off.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16514/-tron-sequel-tv-spin-off-already-planned-
Hopefully, the remake won't feel like a three-hour tour.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16502/warners-is-off-to-gilligan-s-island-
Conan vs Colonel Quaritch? [Who the fuck came up with that dumb name? Oh, yeah.]
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16516/-avatar-villain-up-for-new-conan-villain-
Via Dark Horizons:
Scott has a monopoly on 2012:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/03/02/exclusive-ridley-scotts-monopoly-still-on-track-for-2012-or-later/
You're still on the same fucking planet in the sequel?!
http://scifiwire.com/2010/03/james-cameron-dont-call-i.php
Cameron Crowe's next gig?
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/03/cameron_crowe_bought_zoo.html
Rourke gets taken to the Greek.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iwPV-duvUuscES8wf_ZSWPSYbo9w
Oh, and pics of 'Persia, 'Funeral, Burke & Hare, and Tourist @ http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/16517/news-shorts-march-3rd-2010
Gosnell gives Neil Patrick Harris blue balls.
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/44159
And I spotted this off Michael Moore's site.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/f5a57185bd/funny-or-die-s-presidential-reunion

comment #76

bondjamesbond says ...

And DeeZee brings it to a crashing halt.

comment #77

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"The next Fogey-ana Jones is closer to happening."

This little "bon mot" from a guy who rips Tarantino's writing?

Holy fuck!

comment #78

Gordn27 says ...

Kaned - I like how he thinks 'Avatar' takes place on a planet (let alone his interpretation of what Cameron actually said).

comment #79

Ghost072 says ...

Threads like this actually make me think that DeeZee's link bukkake serve some sort of twisted purpose. Of course, Melanie Laurent should be able to wear sneakers filming a scene where her feet aren't even close to the frame. Who knows how many takes they filmed of that scene over who knows what terrain? And what difference does it make if she wears shoes anyway? Arguing that the scene is somehow diminished - or even AFFECTED by this detail - is absolutely retarded and I mean that in the truest sense of the word: slow - and impeding the progress of rational thought. Film is make believe and though the magic of its construction may make us want to believe the images we see are real, the reality is that most of what we see never actually happens. If this wasn't a truism, neither FX artists nor stunt professionals would have JOBS.

Also, LexG, you're comment #73 sold me again on your genius, even though half the time I think you are a whiny, delusional twat. I hope you take that as the compliment it's intended to be.

BTW, I still think Inglorious Basterds is an overrated film, but it isn't because Melanie Laurent wore shoes at any point during filming.

comment #80

BoomerSooner says ...

I'm not sure what's more retarded. DeeZee's entire destruction of the discussion or Wells' initial post.

comment #81

DeeZee says ...

Kane: Yeah, because only an MIT graduate could come up with Beatrix Kiddo.

comment #82

Chinaski94 says ...

But you've not even done that much, DZ. If your posting on HE is any indication, you're a shitty writer.

comment #83

televisiontears says ...

Ed Haaardy! Wutz up, internet ladiez! Do you date me?

comment #84

BRob says ...

Amusing that a thread discussing feet attracts the attention of a spambot selling shoes. It's popped up in a few other threads.

comment #85

DeeZee says ...

Dunno if it's true, but this link I found off the AICN talk-backs indicates female viewers of Sly's new movie are considered expendable to LG.
http://www.fanboyweb.com/?p=37#more-37

comment #86

LexG says ...

Long as I'm amped up on Henny and skunk, time to DROP THE KNOWLEDGE:

One thing that I'm not big on about Tarantino's foot shots is they just look kinda goofy, like some cute chick like Dawson or Kruger but then he has them with their SOLES just artlessly splayed out, and it just looks ridiculous. Maybe this is some big thing for foot guys, like some rare enticement... I've definitely noticed you NEVER see the soles of feet on primetime TV, so maybe it's some verboten thing. You rarely see them in movies shot as dead-on and bluntly as Tarantino does.

That's not to be confused with the CHICK LYING ON HER STOMACH with the feet up behind her, which is VERY COMMON and one of the SEXIEST POSES EVER, even if you don't dig feet... a chick in that position is inherently girly, cute, approachable, nonthreatening, slyly sexy, demure, playful... the reverse soles up in the air behind her kinda flexed.

Which would be cool. But Tarantino's always all just some chick with her goofy feet just THERE, like sitting on her ass and just some big wrinkly goofy soles in the camera. It's not that flattering, it's not really sexy, and to some people it's even kind of offputting (though NO cute chick's feet could ever be offputting, in my opinion.)

I somehow get the sense that if QT DID direct a fetish porn (which his movies practically are anyway), it would be the WORST, least sexy porn ever, like for all his artistry and repute, he'd just force the camera in on some distorted angle with giant feet (or whatever the fetish was) up in the foreground.

In fact, blasphemy of blasphemies, but taking it wider? Even though I love QT's movies and he's definitely a great visionary and has his own style... For someone who worships De Palma and all the masters, I ALWAYS think his stuff is more straight-on and unfiltered than I'd expect. Even the hyper stylized Kill Bills seemed kind of terrestrial in their visuals, everything shot fairly straight-on and without TOO many cuts. It works for him fine, but his "sheen" just kind of seems like typical Miramax/Weinstein prestige DUST instead of really out there. I'd almost say his pacing and shot composition is closer to Kevin Smith than it is to De Palma.

comment #87

Floyd Thursby says ...

Stroheim had soldiers, not actresses, wearing period undies.

Glad to hear that Lex also has fantasies about
Yvonne Strahovski.

Speaking of Straight Time, it has the most disgusting foot shot in history, some wino in a holding cell.

comment #88

LexG says ...

Floyd:

God, get Yvonne off that HORRIBLE show and put this goddess in some damn movies. Talk about wasted potential... one of the sexiest women in the world wasting the prime years of her hotness and charisma on some dogshit NBC flop opposite that dweeby douche in his 2007 Dexter cut. Zachary Levi??? Really, are we this desperate for cipher-like Zach Braff ripoffs that the fourth billed guy from Sara Rue's wack sitcom has HIS OWN SHOW, and not only that but NBC pretends this canceled failure is somehow the cornerstone of their prime time lineup?

Fuck CHUCK, let Zach Levi go back to whatever Westside poetry slam or ABC character drama he's destined to end up in to no noticeable impact, and free up to the STRAHOVSKI to be in big movies. She's SO MUCH better than that show.

comment #89

DeeZee says ...

Lex: Not to mention Uma's feet in Kill Bill were fugly.

"I'd almost say his pacing and shot composition is closer to Kevin Smith than it is to De Palma."

For some reason, I got glack for comparing that godawful girl talk in Death Proof to a wannabe Kevin Smith movie.

comment #90

Eloi Manning says ...

Lex: I generally find TV chicks to be hotter than movie ones anyway. For years we've had the likes of Kirsten Dunst and Nicole Kidman sold to us as beautiful, hot women, whereas if you compare them to the aforementioned Chuck chick, the Gossip Girls and the Lost women, they don't really compare.

comment #91

Eloi Manning says ...

DeeZee: The girl-talk in Death Proof was easily the worst stuff Tarantino has done, but I always think of Death Proof as a short film expanded to feature length unnaturally. No wonder it has filler in it. It was supposed to be an hour long or whatever. The car chase is one of the best in recent history, though.

comment #92

bobbyperu says ...

Citzen Kane for Chewing Gum (WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT MEANS): "You're really unable to decode movies, aren't you, Bobby Peru?"

No, you're just another snarky asshole who has obviously no clue about Tarantino's admitted influences and how he employs genres ad nauseum instead of infusing a single one of his films with any semblance of life experience. Not that it's a bad thing, and I love his movies for what they are -- flash. Beyond a few moments in Jackie Brown and the last reel of Kill Bill II, he couldn't care less about realism in his characters, and if it exists at all, it's only delivered by the actors.

Oh, and Wild at Heart is about ten times the movie that IB is. But I am glad to know that you think "it blows" -- how insightful. Think I'll stick with the Cannes jury on that one.

comment #93

PCP says ...

This topic is really just more of the "I hate QT" since all directors do stuff like this ... no different than body doubling, stuntmen, etc.

there is no issue here.

comment #94

PCP says ...

Didn't Alan Ladd stand on a box?

comment #95

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

re: Yvonne Strahovski

You need to buy a copy of Mass Effect 2, Lex. (Like, YESTERDAY.)

comment #96

juju says ...

"If I'd been the director... "

Classic. Truly. There should be a "If I'd been the director"... tee-shirt to go with the 'All I really want to do is direct' line.

And, if the actor had refused citing the potential for foot injury would Wells have fired her? Made sure she never got another role. She and Jon Voight could get together and call Him names.

On the flip side, the comment produced a lot of responses/hits. Mission accomplished, I suppose.

comment #97

BoomerSooner says ...

It's probably Wells using the most asinine argument he can think of to drive site traffic. Like you said, mission accomplished.

comment #98

thasos says ...

98 comments and counting. Lord almighty

comment #99

mccool says ...

I'm just really impressed James Cameron was able to find some real Navi people and didn't have to use CGI or any trickery to make Avatar.

comment #100

BoomerSooner says ...

You have to imagine that Wells respects the hell out of Todd Phillips since he truly took Ed Helms' tooth out.

comment #101

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"Oh, and Wild at Heart is about ten times the movie that IB is. But I am glad to know that you think "it blows" -- how insightful. Think I'll stick with the Cannes jury on that one."

Since your implication is the Cannes jury is suddenly somehow the cinematic arbitrator of everything good, I guess you'll stick with Pulp Fiction as the best film of '94, then?

And don't think the irony is lost on me that someone with a moniker named after a fucking David Lynch film is standing on a pedestal preaching about "technical realism in movies," either. I love Lynchian weirdness just as much -- if not moreso -- than the next film buff (I put MD on my list of ten best of the '00s), but his films are based in reality just about as much as the goddamn boat ride through It's a Small Word After All.

I've said it before on these boards regarding IB -- and I promise to stop pounding the drum after it loses the BP Oscar -- but I do really think it's one of the most relevant and urgent pictures of modern times regarding our very ambiguous feelings towards violence, terror, and the media manipulation/exploitation of these feelings and images.

I find absolute realism to be horribly overrated, and possibly even entirely irrelevant -- not to mention impossible -- when watching a film. You know a very realistic war film? Black Hawk Down. That's all well and good, and probably about as accurate as possible as far as attempting to replicate what it might feel like to be a soldier experiencing conflict firsthand. But at the end of the film, what issues and subjects have brought up that demand discussion? Very few, I would venture to say. I feel much the same way about The Hurt Locker on the whole, although the main character's obsession/addiction to life-or-death situations at least gives it a little more "juice," narratively speaking.

I guess I'm just a little surprised -- disappointed, quite frankly -- that so many people write off Quentin as "a shallow filmmaker" because, why, exactly? He's cinema-literate? He enjoys genre filmmaking? He makes movies that comment on themselves as they're unspooling? These are negative qualities? Really? This really makes me wonder... if the Internet existed in the '60s, would Jean-Luc Godard have instantly been the most despised director of his generation?

As for your other points, your attribution of any realism to the actors -- as opposed to the writer/director of the projects -- is absolutely silly (at best), and more likely downright disingenuous. That's like me giving Dennis Hopper all the credit for the creation of Frank Booth. Absurd.

Aside from "a few moments," Jackie Brown is "flashy" filmmaking? Dude, could you even be any more wrong? That movie probably has some of the longest shots in the last 15 years of American cinema -- it probably averages about 3-4 minutes between cuts on the whole, which I'm sure is an INSANE deviation from the average '90s flick. As for the Kill Bill pictures, they can work as a metaphor for a broken home. The duels/showdowns are just a visual expression of emotional quarrels between family members. As with IB, the analogy is there if you care to look deeper. The beauty is that the flicks don't need the subtexts to function -- they work perfectly well as genre-pics in and of themselves.

"I'm not interested in a 'realistic look' -- not at all, not ever. Every film should look the way I feel."
--Martin Scorsese, 1976

comment #102

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

Speaking of Lynch and Wild At Heart, I'm real super-pissed to have just now found out that Willem Dafoe didn't actually decapitate himself with a shotgun in that flick.

comment #103

kamichojin says ...

Nicely said, Kaned.

Dafoe's all about method though. I'm sure he had his teeth filed down for Wild At Heart just like they drove an actual millstone through his leg for Antichrist.

To quote Thom Matthews in Return of the Living Dead "You mean the movie lied?!?"

comment #104

Josh Massey says ...

Yvonne Strahovski: perhaps the finest woman alive. I haven't gone all teenage boy for a girl since - well, since I was a teenage boy.

comment #105

DeeZee says ...

Kane: "I guess I'm just a little surprised -- disappointed, quite frankly -- that so many people write off Quentin as "a shallow filmmaker" because, why, exactly? He's cinema-literate? He enjoys genre filmmaking?"

Because if he didn't have those influences to fall back on and rip off, he'd be lumped in with the guy who directed The Room.

"This really makes me wonder... if the Internet existed in the '60s, would Jean-Luc Godard have instantly been the most despised director of his generation?"

Godard made films about the real world, not about other films. Though I love the irony of you bringing him up, given how PF is a remake of Band of Outsiders, and all...

"Aside from "a few moments," Jackie Brown is "flashy" filmmaking? Dude, could you even be any more wrong? That movie probably has some of the longest shots in the last 15 years of American cinema -- it probably averages about 3-4 minutes between cuts on the whole, which I'm sure is an INSANE deviation from the average '90s flick."

It's flashy in the sense of stupid fucking music montages which try to make white people who don't know shit about black pop culture feel hip.

"As for the Kill Bill pictures, they can work as a metaphor for a broken home. The duels/showdowns are just a visual expression of emotional quarrels between family members."

Now you're just full of shit. Kill Bill is a pro-Iraq movie, plain and simple. The Bride(America) gets hurt(9/11), gets her payback(kills everyone Bush's father didn't) and have a happy ending where we also manage to secure the child(our oil).

comment #106

Credit Card Debt says ...

I'm just really impressed James Cameron was able to find some real Navi people and didn't have to use CGI or any trickery to make Avatar.

comment #107

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"Because if he didn't have those influences to fall back on and rip off, he'd be lumped in with the guy who directed The Room."

Ah, I see you've recently added yet another obscurely bad film to your repetoire (what, Final Fantasy and Dragonball finally wearing thin??). You know, if you're going to attempt make an analogy, it helps if more than five people have actually seen the movie in question. Generally speaking, it would help if you'd watch any movie you reference instead of blindly trying to pass yourself off as an expert.

"Godard made films about the real world, not about other films. Though I love the irony of you bringing him up, given how PF is a remake of Band of Outsiders, and all..."

They're similar insofar as they both make films about the real world filtered through the movies they've seen. It's hilarious to me that liking cinema is instantly used a strike against directors, as if working a blue-collar job for 20 years is somehow the only way to magically achieve artistic vision. They're both passionate about film, and you're supposed to write what you know. Btw, what's your favorite scene in Band of Outsiders? Mine is when Franz and Arthur are taken to the basement of the Louvre, with Anna Karina in her gimp outfit. Oh, wait...

"It's flashy in the sense of stupid fucking music montages which try to make white people who don't know shit about black pop culture feel hip."

Yes, that's a very good description...of Judgment Night. Meanwhile, Jackie Brown has lead performances by Pam Grier and Robert Forster and a soundtrack featuring The Delfonics and Minnie Fucking Ripperton. To paraphrase Sport in Taxi Driver, "Brother, that don't sound hip."

"Now you're just full of shit. Kill Bill is a pro-Iraq movie, plain and simple. The Bride(America) gets hurt(9/11), gets her payback(kills everyone Bush's father didn't) and have a happy ending where we also manage to secure the child(our oil)."

Yes, clearly this reading is less "full of shit." This is where I would bring up the fact that the final screenplay for the KB movies was actually completed prior to 9/11, but we all know you couldn't care less about pesky things like facts.

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of proving you wrong:

"For some reason, I got glack for comparing that godawful girl talk in Death Proof to a wannabe Kevin Smith movie."

1) Anyway you cut it, Tarantino got his start in the business well before KS. And since you seem to love bringing up My Best Friend's Birthday in every QT-related thread, this just means his verbose style was established a full SEVEN years before Smith's. Oops...

2) I don't recall Smith ever setting up genre conventions (talky youths get murdered) only to subvert them in the second half of the film (turns out these talky youths' bark is as big as their bite). It's dialogue that serves a purpose.

3) I don't recall Smith directing an action setpiece like the conclusion of Death Proof. I only remember some sort of shoddily-staged hockey action scene that supposed to take place on the roof of a convenience store (but even to the casual viewer, obviously isn't).

4) "Glack" isn't a real word, but even in the slang sense, you're using it incorrectly.

Bye now.

comment #108

DeeZee says ...

Kane: "They're similar insofar as they both make films about the real world filtered through the movies they've seen."

And they both have some flashy dances and a Vietnam vet and a robbery which goes wrong, and a girl with Uma's 'do, and, and...

"It's hilarious to me that liking cinema is instantly used a strike against directors, as if working a blue-collar job for 20 years is somehow the only way to magically achieve artistic vision."

Well, technically QT's done both, but that's not why I don't like him. It's the way he wears that shit on his sleeve like he's the only fucking guy who knows about the movies he's seen.

"Btw, what's your favorite scene in Band of Outsiders? Mine is when Franz and Arthur are taken to the basement of the Louvre, with Anna Karina in her gimp outfit."

I don't remember any Cubans or coke in the 30s Scarface, either. At least DePalma's more honest about his movie being a remake than QT, though.

"Meanwhile, Jackie Brown has lead performances by Pam Grier and Robert Forster and a soundtrack featuring The Delfonics and Minnie Fucking Ripperton. To paraphrase Sport in Taxi Driver, "Brother, that don't sound hip.""

It would have been hip if QT hadn't turned it into a poor man's Hill Street Blues.

"This is where I would bring up the fact that the final screenplay for the KB movies was actually completed prior to 9/11,"

That's weird. Last time I checked, QT said he only had the idea for it, and was still begging Uma to sign up and Harvey to fund the project around that time.

"Anyway you cut it, Tarantino got his start in the business well before KS."

Uh, that's only because he's Smith's senior by ten years.

"And since you seem to love bringing up My Best Friend's Birthday in every QT-related thread, this just means his verbose style was established a full SEVEN years before Smith's."

Yeah, because I'm sure Smith watched 'Birthday and said, "I want to be like that director!"

"I don't recall Smith ever setting up genre conventions (talky youths get murdered) "

Someone hasn't seen the deleted Clerks ending.

"only to subvert them in the second half of the film (turns out these talky youths' bark is as big as their bite). "

I think you mean the other way around? Though I guess I can mention Mallrats and Dogma if you don't mean it that way.

"I don't recall Smith directing an action setpiece like the conclusion of Death Proof."

Mallrats.

And I meant flack.

comment #109

Chinaski94 says ...

Now we know that....

DZ has not seen Band of Outsiders. The Room. Jackie Brown. Clerks. Mallrats. Death Proof. Kill Bill. Jackie Brown. Hill Street Blues. Dogma.

comment #110

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

"And they both have some flashy dances and a Vietnam vet and a robbery which goes wrong, and a girl with Uma's 'do, and, and..."

and nothing. The Vietnam "connection" is bullshit and you know it (it's alluded to for probably a grand total of 10 seconds between the two films). So basically we have two films with crime, dancing, and a haircut. Maybe they're both just remakes of West Side Story? PF is about as much like BoO as RD is like CoF.

"Well, technically QT's done both, but that's not why I don't like him. It's the way he wears that shit on his sleeve like he's the only fucking guy who knows about the movies he's seen."

Man, I really wish you would get your problem with him straight -- is it because he wears his influences on his sleeve or because he hides them? It certainly can't be both, numbnuts! Also, working at a video store (or an usher at a movie theater) doesn't really count as blue-collar as the manual labor required is minimum to none. And he certainly didn't do either of those jobs for 20 years.

"At least DePalma's more honest about his movie being a remake than QT, though."

But how can this be? You just said QT "wears his influences on his sleeve." And Scarface is a remake.

That's weird. Last time I checked, QT said he only had the idea for it, and was still begging Uma to sign up and Harvey to fund the project around that time.

You know what's not weird? You're wrong. Check again. http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=10182
The film's release was delayed due to Thurman's pregnancy, but it was already written almost a year before it started shooting.

"Uh, that's only because he's Smith's senior by ten years."

7 1/2.

"Yeah, because I'm sure Smith watched 'Birthday and said, 'I want to be like that director!'"

Hey -- you're always the first person to bring it up as a negative, falsely implying that people have actually seen it (let alone that it got an actual, official release). You've never have any problem voluntarily bringing it up, so you better acknowledge its existence now, motherfucker. Be consistent.

"Someone hasn't seen the deleted Clerks ending."

Someone didn't stay on topic.
1) That ending's deleted from the film, aka NOT CONSIDERED AN ACTUAL PART OF THE MOVIE.
2) We were discussing genre subversion through DIALOGUE. The robber shoots Dante, and robs his register without SAYING A SINGLE WORD.
3) How is that SETTING UP ANYTHING? Even if they did use it, that would have been the end of the picture. Nothing would have followed.

"I think you mean the other way around? Though I guess I can mention Mallrats and Dogma if you don't mean it that way."

Which specific part of Mallrats? There can't be any genre subversion in Dogma because it doesn't even belong to a genre (you need more than just Dogma and Life Less Ordinary to be given your own section in a video store), let alone one with easily identifiable "rules." I did mean it the other way around, though.

"Mallrats."

No. Sight unseen, Cop Out would have been the better answer there, although still miles away from a satisfactory comparison.

comment #111

Chinaski94 says ...

". Be consistent."

Asking DZ to be consistent is a little like asking a hooker to stop giving blow jobs.

Great posts CitizenKaned.

comment #112

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

lol, true, chinaski.

How unfortunate that I'm spending my Friday with the former rather than the latter ;).

comment #113

DeeZee says ...

"but it was already written almost a year before it started shooting."

Link doesn't prove any of that, but nice try.

comment #114

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Try looking at the date of the article, nimwit.

comment #115

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comment #116

Gordn27 says ...

"I only remember some sort of shoddily-staged hockey action scene that supposed to take place on the roof of a convenience store (but even to the casual viewer, obviously isn't)."

I'm pretty sure it actually is; whatever that says about his directing, I'll leave to you.

comment #117

leo12 says ...

Which specific part of Mallrats? There can't be any genre subversion in Dogma because it doesn't even belong to a genre (you need more than just Dogma and Life Less Ordinary to be given your own section in a video store), let alone one with easily identifiable "rules." I did mean it the other way around, though. crete hotels

comment #118

leo12 says ...

That's an immaculately directed sequence and for Jeff to second-guess QT's approach just smacks of petty sniping. LEED Certification

comment #119

leo12 says ...

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