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It’s been an HE cliche for several years that I will never accept, much less forgive, older dudes shuffling around in mandals or even, God forbid, barefoot. In the old days men wore lace-up tennis shoes or slip-ons. There are very few things in the public arena that are more odious than man toes, and yet millions of older American males are staunchly defiant in this regard, sometimes to the extent of wearing mandals in hotel breakfast rooms.

With the 2023 Santa Barbara Film Festival only a couple of weeks away, it is time once again to recount an HE incident that happened during the 2016 festival, at Santa Barbara’s Cabrillo Inn at the Beach. But first a re-posting of two comments, from Gigi Pinimba and Mr. Sunset Terras Cotta:

Posted on 2.14.16: I don’t like mingling with hotel guests as a rule. If I run into one I’ll turn on the pleasant smile and say “good morning!” but if I can avoid them I will. Partly because I prefer morning solitude, and partly because the folks who stay at midrange hotels and motels tend to be the kind of people who go on Caribbean cruises and vacation in Cancun and Las Vegas. Middle-aged marrieds, overweight types, elderly folk, tourists with kids…later.

All to say that when I want a cup of Starbucks Instant I’d rather fill the cup with hot water from the bathroom tap than hit the breakfast lounge. It’s not the staff (they’re all gracious and obliging) as much as the riff-raff.

In any event I was up early this morning and not, for a reason I won’t go into, at the Fess Parker but at the Cabrillo Inn. Around 6:45 am I turned on the bathroom tap and waited for the hot water. And waited. It didn’t happen, never even turned warm. So I went downstairs with my day-old paper cup and my Starbucks Instant and strolled into the complimentary-breakfast room. Some 50ish guy (a tourist from Chicago, he later explained) was standing inside and giving me the once-over.

Two women were preparing things; they weren’t quite ready to serve. But all I wanted was some hot water so I asked if I could get some. In a minute or two, they said. So I nodded and waited. It wasn’t worth explaining that steaming hot tap water would suffice.

The guy from Chicago thought I had overstepped. Chicago guy: “Why don’t you ask the hotel manager?” Me: “What’s he gonna do?” Chicago guy: “That’s what he’s here for.” Me: “What’s he gonna do, push the emergency hot-water button?” Chicago guy: “He could get an engineer to fix the pipes.” Me: “At ten minutes to seven on a Sunday morning? Yeah, that’s a possibility.”

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In a 1.23 World of Reel post that riffs on a 1.13.22 Daily Mail interview, Empire of Light director-writer Sam Mendes laments the bombing or under-performing of not only his own film** but other auteur-stamped features that opened during 2022’s award season.

The comment thread that follows is fascinating, but I was particularly stirred by a post from “Andrew”, who compares the Miramax-dominated realm of 1998 (when well-educated boomers and GenXers were avid followers of critically-approved award-season flicks) to the coarse downmarket reality of today.

Mendes:

Andrew:

** Empire of Light is HE’s choice for the best film of 2022. And I’m far from alone in my admiration.

Earlier today TasteofCinema tweeted a question that many of us have contemplated: “What’s the best movie you’ve ever seen that takes place in a single location?”

HE reply: Obviously and incontestably there are two films at the top of the list — Alfred Hitchcock‘s Lifeboat (’44) and Sidney Lumet‘s 12 Angry Men (’57). No other single-location films are anywhere near as good, and that includes Louis Malle‘s My Dinner with Andre (’81) and Hitchcock’s Rope (’48).

None of these veteran know-it-alls — Gold Derby‘s Tom O’Neil, Deadline‘s Pete Hammond, IndieWire‘s Anne Thompson, Blackfilm‘s Wilson Morales — address the woke mind-virus factor, or the fact that the award-season mindset has become fatally myopic. Industry types living and thinking and spitballing on their own tight little island with no awareness of or interest in what. Joe and Jane Popcorn might think about all this. O’Neil: “Joe and Jane who?”

Plus the inescapable fact that none of the supposed Best Picture contenders are home runs. Except, that is, for Top Gun: Maverick. Give credit to Hammond, at least, for stating that Top Gun: Maverick was probably a big #2 favorite when Academy members were filling out their ballots.

Hammond also notes that he’s heard stories about Academy members turning off Everything Everywhere All At Once as they try to watch it at home. Quote: “Some people are really trying [to get it], like it’s homework. [But] it’s so easy to turn off.” Translation: The over-45 crowd hates it.

Thompson on EEAAO: “I tried to tell somebody about what the EEAAO plot is, and I failed.” Also: “A lot people find The Fablemans flat and not exciting.”

It’s fundamentally unfair of the Razzies to have nominated Andrew Dominik‘s Blonde for Worst Film and Worst Director, among a total of eight Razzie noms.

That’s because there’s a difference between a film allegedly being the worst of a given year, and the same film being the most widely disliked, which is arguably the case here.

The fact is that Blonde, which I hate as much as the next guy, is a very well-made film (a firm grasp of tone and theme, excellent technical chops), and it certainly boasts a formidable lead performance by Ana de Armas.

HE isn’t really qualified to come up with its own Razzie list because I can smell trouble from certain films, and I therefore tend to avoid those that give off a certain odor. I therefore didn’t even see Morbius, Shattered, The 355, The King’s Daughter, The Man From Toronto, The Bubble, Firestarter, Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks‘ Pinocchio, etc.

But among the flawed ’22 films that I did see, I would nominate the following for HE Razzies: David O. Russell‘s Amsterdam (very sorry to say this), Colin Trevorrow‘s Jurassic World Dominion, Luca Guadagnino‘s Bones and All (deeply sorry to say this), Marie Kruetzer‘s Corsage (hated it), Anthony and Joe Russo‘s The Gray Man and (not awful but deeply unsatisfying) Tobias Lindholm‘s The Good Nurse.

Among the duds that I saw, what am I forgetting?

The 43rd annual Razzie Awards will happen on Saturday, March 11 — a day before the Oscars.

It was announced earlier today that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon‘s Air, a fact-based sports marketing drama about Nike salesman Sonny Vaccaro, will receive a wide theatrical release from Amazon on Wednesday, April 5.

This will be Amazon’s first major theatrical effort since Mindy Kaling’s Late Night, a Sundance acquisition, opened and underperformed in the summer of 2019.

Question: Was I crazy for thinking that Air, in which Damon will play Vaccaro, would be an Oscar season thing?

Two possible answers: One, Air might not be as good as it needs to be to compete against other ’23 award-seekers. Or two, things are changing and the Oscar-chasing game ain’t what it used to be.

Air follows in the wake of Ari Aster‘s Beau Is Afraid, another seemingly high-pedigree feature film by a name-brand auteur that has forsaken an award-season strategy in favor of an April opening.

Things are changing and an April opening doesn’t necessarily mean what it used to mean — i.e., an interesting film that doesn’t quite make it, and therefore doesn’t have sufficient award-season mojo. Again, that’s a cachet that used to apply but not necessarily in a January 2023 context.

Explained by friendo: “As we learned in 2022, there is much less value in the Oscar race today…contaminated by woke critics and their anti-populist priorities, the Oscar brand is so bad that smart producers aren’t necessarily aiming for an Oscar association…it used to be that Oscar-buzz movies made money or at least enjoyed a certain elevated status…now it’s almost the opposite.

“Oscar movies have become about eating your vegetables and raising your social consciousness….fewer people are interested in them, because of the woke thing or whatever. Or because Millennials and Zoomers have become totally alienated from the brand.”

Let’s presume that Air is a highly-engaging, first-rate film. (It certainly feels like a humdinger.) It’s the first behind-the-camera collaboration between co-screenwriters Damon and Affleck (along with Alex Convery) since their Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting, on top of which Affleck, a proven helmer, is the director. Plus the story is about audacity and pathfinding (somewhat reminiscent of Bennett Miller‘s Moneyball) in the sports business, and…well, it sounds classy and cool and proletariat.

Plus it’s fortified by a cool-sounding cast (Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Chris Tucker, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina). Plus it’s the first film produced by Affleck and Damon’s Artists Equity.

12 years ago Moneyball bought into the whole Toronto-premiere, critically-supported, award-season route. But today it was announced that Amazon will open Air on Wednesday, April 5th, or roughly two and a half months hence.

Deadline‘s Anthony D’Alessandrio: “I hear Air will have a longer theatrical window than Amazon Studios’ recent limited theatrical releases, before hitting Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories. It truly is a first-of-its-kind arrangement for the studio as Amazon will distribute the film globally, with Warner Bros. Pictures handling international as part of its distribution pact with Amazon’s MGM. Amazon Studios only had U.S. on Late Night, not global rights.”

Tuesday (1.24) aftermath, filed by N.Y.Post‘s Jane Herz.

Initial Monday (1.23) posting: Keep in mind that the Trans Cultural Mindful Alliance (TCMA), formed and staffed by a Norweigan group of trans activists, only came into being this month (probably only a week or two ago) and for all we know consists of a relatively small number of members. Or not…who knows? Maybe there are thousands of members. But I doubt it.

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The die is cast, and we’ll all know the Oscar nominations come Tuesday morning. It’s totally okay to respect and honor Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in their respective categories while at the same dismissing EEAAO as a Best Picture contender. It’s all right, you can do this, nobody will raise an eyebrow, it all fits together.

Jeff and Sasha‘s latest Oscar Poker (recorded two days ago) is up and running. For love, for formula, for comfort and for the joyful shirking of 2022 Best Picture nominees that many respect but nobody really loves…be honest. It was another weakish year, and the only film that really bull’s-eyed according to its own self-=imposed terms was Top Gun: Maverick. Stop arguing! Within the prison cell of general Academy preferences TG:M is the only hot mama that truly sings.

If you want 2022’s actual best films, I posted them on 12.30.22: 1. Empire of Light, 2. Close, 3. Happening, 4. Vengeance, 5. She Said, 6. Emily The Criminal, 7. Christian Mungiu‘s R.M.N., 8. Top Gun: Maverick; 9. Avatar: The Way of Water; 10. Tar (despite the many irritations). But we’re playing an Academy game now.

Posted on 1.21.23: “Sasha Stone and I just finished an hour-long chat about Tuesday morning’s (1.24) announcement of the ’23 Oscar nominations, and the obvious fact that Top Gun: Maverick, which will certainly be among the chosen few, is the only prospective nominee that feels truly commanding. Authoritatively, I mean.

“Despite the familiarity and the formulaic strategy, TG:M is the only finalist that feels home–runnish…not to mention the achievement of having joined forces with Avatar: The Way of Avatar to save and even restore a classic, life-giving Hollywood dynamic (thrills, popcorn, warm seats) to exhibition itself…there’s no ignoring the metaphor.”

Again, the latest Substack link.

“But the penis is not the enemy. The enemy is misunderstanding.”

Sundance Friendo: “Landscape with Invisible Hand is said it’s a really fascinating project. I’m sure Cat Person will be annoying and stupid, but i have to see it ahead of the online discourse. And i really want to see The Eight Mountains and Other People’s Children.”

Two seconds after I saw this pre-Super Bowl spot sometime in early ’07, I was 95% certain that Barack Obama would be elected president the following year. No question. Dozens in in my liberal circle were stubborn Hillary fans and stayed with her until the spring of ’08. But I knew.

Gather round and time-trip with yours truly back to Saturday, 12.2.06 — the day of the press junket for Steven Soderbergh‘s The Good German, held on the 18th floor of Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria. I’m mentioning this because of an impression I had that day of costar Cate Blanchett, who kiddingly called herself “so old!” at the Critics Choice awards a few days ago but was all of 37 back then.

It was the doodling that got me. Holding a #2 pencil, Blanchett was doodling on a note pad as she answered questions, and my heart kind of melted when I saw this. Here’s how I described her:

“Blanchett was extraordinary. Honestly? I stared at her more than I listened.

“It was obvious within a minute or two that she was living deep in her own realm. One with little electric cracks of lightning. She looks down and does little fidgety things — pulling her wedding ring on and off, drawing a doodle on a note pad. It’s not that she’s shy or avoids eye contact, but a lot of the time she talks to the tabletop or her eyes dart around as she’s answering. (Always a mark of a fine creative mind.) Plus it’s been a while since I’ve heard her native Australian accent. She’s done so many different accents recently she could be channelling the Meryl Streep of the ’80s.”

Here’s the mp3 from the conversation, but again — it wasn’t what she said but how she said it. Here’s George Clooney’s interview.

The round tables (which also included Soderbergh) ended just after 1 pm. I took a snap of Blanchett’s doddle pad and a pair of Good German DVDs, but the image quality is atrocious by today’s standards.

The Good German got creamed by critics — 34%.

Posted on 11.27.06: “I’ve seen The Good German twice in Los Angeles, both times with seasoned industry types, and nobody’s gone into a dismissive neg-head chortle about it. Not in my presence, at least. The reactions have been…well, okay, muted but always respectful. No one I spoke to was deriding it or grumbling on their way out to the parking lot.

“Set in the post-World War II rubble of Berlin, The Good German is a very periodesque, Third Man-ish experience, but it’s not spoofy in the slightest. Except for the final scene it’s relatively earnest (as far as a film like this can be) and straight and about itself. It’s partly a tribute piece — a recreation of a military whodunit drama as it might have actually looked and moved if, say, Michael Curtiz had directed it in 1946 — and partly a Phillip Marlowe detetective story in uniform.”

2.16.06: “Pete Hammond tells me he was casually praising Clooney at a party last weekend for helping to keep the monochrome tradition alive with both The Good German and Good Night, and Good Luck, and Clooney answered, “Yeah, well, I think after The Good German that’s about it for the black-and-white thing.”

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