Month: July 2021

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Feinberg “suspects” that Juho Kuosmanen‘s Compartment No.6, which screened on Saturday, may be “the first serious contender for the Palme d’Or.” Because of the alleged quality of it and the enthusiastic audience response.

Before you buy the hype, consider the trailer (top) and especially the bottom clip, in which the costars, Seidi Haarla (Finnish) and Yuriy Borisov (Russian), chat inside a small train compartment.

And ask yourself how many minutes you’d want to spend listening to the drunken Borisov boast and cackle as he blows his rancid smoke and drops ashes all over the place…I was feeling repulsed rather quickly. Imagine having to listen to this jerk for hours on end as he lights up cigarette after cigarette…dear God.

Boilerplate synopsis: “Compartment No. 6 is the story of a young Finnish woman who escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the Arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of compartment no. 6 to face the truth about their own yearning for human connection.”

Sean Penn‘s Flag Day (UA Releasing, 8.13) has opened in Cannes to pretty good reviews. These Cote d’Azur tributes led me to a realization that the 40th anniversary of Taps, in which Penn gave his first significant (if supporting) performance, isn’t far off. And so…

Am I a bigger fan of Penn’s acting than his efforts at directing? Yes. How many of his performances over the past 40 are serious keepers? By my count, 16. The stellar award-worthy perfs mixed with the likable, even-toned mezzo-mezzos. Here’s my list:

1. Jeff Spiccoli (stoner) in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (’82)…certainly.
2. Daulton Lee (drug dealer, seller of CIA intelligence reports to Russians in Mexico City) in The Falcon and the Snowman (’85)…no question.
3. Brad Whitewood, Jr. in At Close Range (’86)…Chris Walken owns this film, but Penn was a close second.
4. Officer Danny McGavin in Dennis Hopper‘s Colors (’88).
5. Sgt. Tony Meserve in Brian DePalma‘s Casualties of War (’89).
6. Terry Noonan in Phil Joanou‘s State of Grace (’90)…not a towering performance but an abovep-average one.
7. Frizzy-haired David Kleinfeld in Brian DePalma‘s Carlito’s Way (’93).
8. Death row prisoner Matthew Poncelet in Tim Robbins‘ Dead Man Walking (’95).
9. Eddie in Anthony Drazan‘s Hurlyburly (’98) — a better play than a film, but Penn was exceptional.
10. Sgt. Welsh in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (’98).
11. Emmet Ray in Woody Allen‘s Sweet and Lowdown (’99) — Django Reinhardt meets La Strada.
12. James “Jimmy” Markum in Clint Eastwood‘s Mystic River (’03).
13. Paul Rivers in Alejandro G. Inarritu‘s 21 Grams (’03).
14. Tobin Keller in Sydney Pollack‘s The Interpreter.
15. Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant‘s Milk (’08).
16. Joseph Wilson in Doug Liman‘s Fair Game (’10).

What films, if any, have I unfairly omitted? I’ve tried to be tough here — strictly doubles, triples and homers…no singles or bunts.

In response to yesterday’s “Anderson Ducking Cannes Journos” story, a certain HE “friendo” asked, “Isn’t it obvious that Wes doesn’t want to be asked questions about Scott Rudin?”

To which I responded, “I guess so, now that you mention it.

“If I were Anderson and that were to come up. I would just say ‘sorry but I’m not going to comment about Scott. He’s always been a first-rate producer and a total professional with me. I’m very sorry about the reports of abusive behavior directed toward his staffers but that’s not my responsibility and I’m certainly not going to get into it here in Cannes.”

A journo pally has suggested HE readers might want to (a) name a critically-acclaimed director whose films they despise, and (b) explain why in 50 to 75 words.

The only director I can think of whose work I really, really don’t like is Todd Solondz (Happiness, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Palindromes, Life During Wartime, Dark Horse, Wiener-Dog). That’s not to say I don’t respect Solondz’s “brand”, or that I would argue with anyone who might insist that he’s one of the indie greats. He’s ballsy — I’ll give him that much. Courage of his convictions, unmistakable signature, etc. And I’m saying this as one who was raised in suburban New Jersey (i.e., not Essex County but Union).

I just know that the films of Todd Solondz tend to make me feel soiled and icky and lethargic. Yeah, I know — that’s the point.

From “Hating Wiener-Dog,” posted on 1.22.16: “Todd Solondz‘s Weiner-Dog, a morose and depressive slog about a dachsund passing from owner to owner and bearing the sins of mankind, screened at the Eccles tonight. It’s about futility, fuck it, banality, depression, ennui, emptiness, death, random cruelty, Down Syndrome and cancer.

“Solondz reportedly told an interviewer today that he intended a blend of Au Hasard Balthasar and Benji. I’ve always hated Solondz and his dweeby, depressive attitude and particularly his attachment to depressive losers. I began hating this film early on, and it was agony sitting through to the end (which I was determined to do no matter what).

“Animal lovers…I was about to post a warning but they can fend for themselves. As Weiner-Dog began a woman sitting behind me was making that ‘awwuhhah’ sound as the camera regarded the lovable dachshund, and I was muttering to myself or more precisely to God “please don’t make me listen to this woman make ‘awwuhhah‘ sounds all through this thing.” Well, she stopped. (On this note Solondz was my ally.) At the very end an older woman sitting next to me was moaning ‘Why did he do that? Why did he do that?’ Go, Todd!”

Here’s another “trying to find good homes for the kittens” story. It just happened. Around 9 am a person asked (texted) whether any of the kittens were still available, and I answered “yes — three. But there’s a homing fee.” The person replied “great” and suggested a drop-by around 10 or 10:15 am. Before agreeing I asked for some basic info. It was a youngish woman who said she has a cat named Timmy who’s alone all day (she works on weekdays), and who could use some company. Okay, I said.

Right around 10:10 am the woman texted “here.” I stepped outside and walked over to the front stoop.
About 50 feet away was an older white convertible covered in garish, hand-painted graffiti (green, black, pink lettering). Right away I was thinking “the hell is this?” A large, sandy-haired beefalo male (mid 30s) was behind the wheel, and the woman I’d texted, a short blonde in sunglasses (also 30ish), was in the passenger seat. They were sipping take-out Starbucks and exchanging PDA — caressing each other’s hair, etc. They looked like they’d been partying all night and hadn’t been to bed.

Obviously they were highly questionable people. No way would I entrust the well-being of a young kitten to these mongrels. What kind of grunt drives a ride like this? What kind of woman says “hey, this big unshaven galumph with longish surfer hair is kinda cute, and I love all the graffiti on his car!” Nope.

I approached them as they exited the vehicle. The woman was holding a small blue cat carrier. I said “sorry but there’s no way I’m selling a kitten to a couple sitting in a car that looks like that.” The woman said “what?” The guy said, “It’s not her car.” I shook my head and said firmly, “I’m not doing it, man.” The woman was silent. The man said to the woman, “Okay, let’s roll.” They returned to the graffiti-mobile. I waved and said “Have a nice day.”

Hugs and condolences for those who cared for and worked with the late character actor William Smith (3.24.33 – 7.5.21). Smith served in the Air Force during the Korean War and flew “ferret” missions over Russia; he was also smart and enterprising enough to attain both CIA and NSA clearances, but he was soon after lured by an acting career that began in the early ’50s, when he was in his early 20s.

I’ve heard or read that Smith off-camera was an amiable, kind-hearted fellow with engaging social skills, but he was most often cast as a belligerent of one kind or another. Always with a certain glint of madness; always threatening the hero or protagonist with a bullet or a pounding; always an over-sized, out-for-blood sociopath of one kind or another.

I’m sorry but after a while that’s really not interesting. Once I’ve gotten to know a proverbial bad guy in a series of films or TV appearances, I want to see his gentler, kinder side. I want to feel his heart, know what he wants and cares for. Because constant psycho-seething is suffocating.

Smith played a few even-tempered lawmen on TV; the strongest impression he ever made as a non-villain was in Lamont Johnson‘s The Last American Hero (’73), in which he played a race-car driving competitor of Jeff Bridges‘ Junior Jackson; a non-threatening Smith also came across in a short introductory scene in John Milius‘s Conan the Barbarian (’82), in which he played the young Conan’s father.

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Director-writer Wes Anderson — the most recognizable and widely imitated auteur-level helmer working today — surely understands that his decision to not participate in a Cannes Film Festival press conference following screenings of his latest film, The French Dispatch (Searchlight, 10.22), isn’t going to enhance the film’s reputation.

Does this mean that The French Dispatch might be problematic on some level? Impossible. That can’t be the case. But Anderson’s duck-out means something.

The film will almost certainly play like another tasty bowl of Anderson soup. Wes is too assured, accomplished and exacting a filmmaker to do anything but deliver like he always has. For a quarter-century his signature has guaranteed a certain set of ingredients — dry irony, deadpan humor, high quirk, production designed with an inch of its life, a stop at Andersonville, etc.

Perhaps this more-than-two-years-old film is so out of his system that Anderson is thinking like Bob Dylan these days — perhaps he can only discuss a relatively fresh film or one that’s about to begin filming or whatever. Perhaps he simply feels unable to go over what for him is yesterday’s news — a film that, however popular it may turn out to be with critics and fans, is no longer in his system. Or he’s completely caught up in his next project (a film to be shot in Spain) and he doesn’t want to interrupt, etc.

The French Dispatch will debut in Cannes on Monday, July 9, and stateside, as noted, on Friday, 10.22.

Friendo to HE: “Maybe for Anderson there’s no value in pushing this movie?”

HE to Friendo: “What the hell does that mean, ‘no value’? If you bring your film to Cannes, you and your creative colleagues (cast, producers) always sit for a press conference. Has any brand-name director ducked a Cannes presser since Terrence Malick was a no-show at the Tree of Life press conference?”

Friendo to HE: “Not sure why, but he’s blowing it off for some reason.

HE to Friendo: “He made it, he’s a grade-A filmmaker, it’s playing at the biggest and most glamorous film festival in the world, it’s going to be offered to audiences in the fall, etc. Ducking the press conference makes zero sense.”

Friendo to HE: “I don’t think it’s because the movie is bad.”

HE to Friendo: “Something has stuck in his craw.”

Dispatch began shooting in late ’18 and wrapped in March ’19. It was slated to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, but that went south, etc.

The French Dispatch cast members include Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Timothée Chalamet, Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro, Elisabeth Moss, Adrien Brody and Willem Dafoe.

Variety‘s Manori Ravindran: “Sources indicate that Anderson isn’t doing any press at all on the ground in Cannes, including a press conference for his latest France-set movie, which will premiere on Monday [7.12].”

AP story filed around 4:30 pm Pacific:

“Binx the cat, until recently a resident of a ninth-floor apartment (#904) in the collapsed Champlain Towers in Miami Beach, has been found safe and well.

“Gina Nicole Vlasek, co-founder of The Kitty Campus, posted two days ago (7.8) that a black cat resembling Binx had been found near the rubble.”

Binx’s identity by confirmed the next day by one or both of the owners, Devin and Angela Gonzalez, both of whom had been “seriously injured” by the collapse.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava“: “I’m glad that this small miracle could bring some light into the lives of a grieving family today and could provide a bright spot for our whole community in the midst of this terrible tragedy.”

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Tatiana and I are in the process of finding good loving homes for a few kittens. They’re just over six weeks old. Naturally we’re requiring a “re-homing” fee — you have to use that term in order to avoid the wrath of the Craig’s List fuzz.

Over the last two or three days a few people have dropped by to inspect the kittens before buying, and it’s all been good. Today a young hetero couple came over. Somewhere between their mid and late 20s, I guessed. Possibly a bit younger. Nice people, good natured, intelligent, etc.

But here’s the thing: When they arrived it was fairly warm outside, mid 80s with lots of glaring sunlight. And yet the young woman (short, a bit chubby-ish) was wearing a heavy black headcap (made of dense yarn) and a heavy-ish hoodie garment plus a sweater, leotard tights and athletic shoes — gear that would have worked for a nice cool fall day.

Except it’s July in Los Angeles. It wasn’t “Death Valley hot”, but if God had added less than five degrees to the thermometer you could’ve fried an egg on the sidewalk.

I didn’t say anything, of course — they were good people. But deep down I was thinking “seriously?” Who wears a heavy yarn headcap in this kind of heat?

Variety‘s Matt Donnelly: During a Cannes Film Festival press conference earlier today, Stillwater star Matt Damon said that his Oklahoma-based, vowel-swallowing character, Bill Baker, “absolutely would’ve supported Trump.”

Damon and Stillwater director Tom McCarthy “road-tripped through Oklahoma prior to shooting, where they were invited into the break rooms and backyard barbecues of the real men who inspired the character.

“These guys don’t apologize for who they are,” Damon said. “They’re in the oil business, of course he [would have] voted for Trump. [But] these people were wonderful to us, they really helped us. It was eye-opening for me.”

“They all have goatees, the sunglasses. They’re not six-pack ab guys, but they’re strong. You go to their barbecues and a guitar comes out and they start singing church songs.”

HE comment: Damon is portraying these Oklahoma fellows in fairly benign terms — authentic, earnest, no apologies for who and what they are. His generous impressions are more or less based on these guys being “wonderful” in helping Damon and McCarthy learn what they’re really about.

But what middle-American Average Joe wouldn’t be generously forthcoming if a famous actor wanted to know what made he and his friends tick? Supporting Donald Trump is not some idle preference. Anyone failing (or refusing) to understand that Trump is a malicious, anti-Democratic sociopath and criminal con man is living in a rabbit hole of denial, and is therefore not, by any fair or sensible standard, a fundamentally decent person. They are basically admitting to being delusional cult followers.

The only “ism” that’s still allowed is ageism — you can have at that all you want. And white guys are the only ethnic group you can dump on with absolutely no fear of reprisal. Because white guys are mostly assholes, right?

And not just the rich, powerful ones but white professional-class dicks you might run into in upscale bars, white-male skilled laborers, snotty-ass white hinterland teenagers, white GenX and boomer-aged freelancers, white male actors, comedians and comedy writers, white dads (divorced or married), white policemen, white male office managers. white male airline pilots…they’re all bad news.

Chelsea Handler to N.Y. Times columnist/podcaster Kara Swisher in 7.8.21 piece called “Chelsea Handler Has A Message for Straight Men“:

“We’re having a social justice and racial justice movement, and so there’s tons to play with and tons to talk about. And we’re all kind of saying goodbye to so many of the things that we’re so accustomed to doing, having to say goodbye to words that you used to think were okay, having to say goodbye to phrases and ways to describe things that you think were okay…

“And”…here it comes!…”having to say goodbye to men for a while because they’re on probation. And until they’ve proven to us that there are more good ones than bad ones, there’s one big group we’re still able to make fun of. And that’s white guys who don’t seem to be getting the message of the movement that’s happening. I’m single so I deal with a lot of straight men who don’t seem to understand that either get on the bus, or you’re going to miss it.”

Did you hear that? Did you understand it clearly? Handler is persuaded that for the most part, there are more “bad” white guys than “good” white guys out there, and therefore the probation status. The world she inhabits is seriously asking itself “are these guys even worth it?” The thinking seems to be that most of them are dicks or at least insufficiently evolved, and they don’t even seem interested in upping their game or broadening their horizons so who needs the bullshit?

Powerful rich white guys are routinely dismissed these days as thugs and assholes, especially those who’ve been portrayed in the media as brash, arrogant, entitled, etc. How should they respond to these characterizations and charges? They can dispute them, of course, but the simplest (and probably the healthiest) response is to take a look in the bathroom mirror and say “okay, I’ve acted like a dick at times and I’m sorry…I could do better and I will try to do that.” That wasn’t so hard, was it?

It follows, naturally, that there are varying degrees of assholery. Starting at the highest (or lowest) levels, there are (a) astounding assholes, (b) exceptional assholes, (c) major-league assholes, (d) average assholes, (e) moderate in-and-out assholes, (f) occasional-but-not-all-that-bad assholes, (g) infrequent assholes and (h) spotty assholes. And those who aren’t assholes at all.

It also follows…I don’t think I’m allowed to say this but what about moderately asshole-ish females? That doesn’t sound right, does it? “Asshole” sounds like a term that guys own. Doesn’t sound right if applied to women, even though they exist. So what’s a fair, non-sexist term for women who are brash, insensitive, obnoxious, arrogant, indifferent to their own shortcomings, etc.?

Female friend to HE: “Bitch. That’s what I say.”

HE to female friend: “That’s a very specific thing, no?”

Female friend to HE: “She’s such a bitch. You can’t say it but I can.”

HE to female friend: “Hah.”

Back to Handler: “Yeah, I mean, all those guys deserve to be made fun of because they’re all assholes. You know what I mean? Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk for sure. Yeah, all of those guys. When you guys make that much money, we’ve got a big problem with capitalism in this country. So yeah, those guys are on the table to make fun of.

“Look at Bill Gates. I thought Bill Gates was this great guy. I was like, look at him. He’s the best billionaire. Warren Buffett — he’s the best billionaire. And then you find out Bill and Melissa are getting divorced. And you’re like, divorced? He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy. He wouldn’t be having an affair. He wouldn’t be doing…and then you fucking find out, yeah, he could have been! Or he could have been at Jeffrey Epstein’s. I mean, allegedly, possibly. Who knows? But it’s like nobody would be fucking Bill Gates in the real world. Nobody.”

HE to Handler: So if a marriage has gone stale or run its course, the husband is automatically an asshole? The wife is 100% blameless? And if you’re bored with your marriage and you’ve decided you’d like to explore a potential new chapter…middle-aged people do this from time to time…the white 40ish husband is automatically an asshole? Did Handler read about Gates’ pathetic, half-hearted attempts to date this or that woman whom he knew from work? And then she turns around and belittles Gates by saying nobody would have fucked him anyway? Maybe they wouldn’t have, but imagine some guy saying that about a well-known, successful woman who isn’t the greatest looker, “No guy would want to fuck her…nobody.”

If a prominent guy were to say this in a N.Y. Times interview, he would be roasted alive.

Handler to Swisher: “There’s an evolution with everybody. And the problem with a lot of these men that have been canceled is they’re not sincerely apologizing, you know?

“My therapy, my whole thing has been on public record. I actually have had an evolution. I do want to be kinder and gentler. I want my jokes to not be reflective of a time in my life that I wasn’t aware of how they impact people. Your words are powerful, especially someone like me, who has a very big mouth. People that do, do that, you can forgive them. You do understand that Chrissy Teigen’s situation, she admitted her bad behavior. She said, ‘I’m really sorry.’ And that’s what we should all be doing when confronted with anything we’ve done, is say, ‘I’m sorry. Thank you for letting me know. I’m going to do better,’ period, end of story.”

HE to Handler: “You’re completely correct. People of maturity and character suck it up and admit error, and they offer apologies where appropriate. We all need to grow and become better people. Definitely.

“But you know what? For the most part offering apologies and becoming better people are not, generally speaking, funny activities. Compassion is necessary and showing obeisance before the woke mob is something we all have to do in order to survive, but it’s not all that funny. Really. Show me more than one or two instances in which big-time comedians of the past have gotten laughs or guffaws or chuckles or even murmuring titters by offering apologies. Apologies are not funny.”

As much as I despise the idea of paying money to see Black Widow, the seemingly reprehensible Marvel newbie from director Cate Shortland and the evil, cap-wearing Kevin Feige, I’m determined to experience the big, full-blast whomping bullshit effect by catching it on a large IMAX screen. I’ll be submitting sometime later this afternoon, probably at the AMC Century City.

I know I’m going to HATE it, but I have to do this. For years I’ve hated most things (85% to 90%) Marvel. Oddly, in a strange way, I can’t wait to get my seethe on: “Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering Marvel poison; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.”

Stephen Dorff to The Independent‘s Adam White on 7.5:

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/ftBeLCVM76

— Nariman△⃒⃘ (@slytherinus) July 9, 2021