Variety‘s Brent Lang is reporting that North American rights to Mark Bristol‘s Accidental Texan have been acquired by Roadside Attractions. Costarring Thomas Haden Church and Rudy Pankow, pic will open theatrically on 3.8.24.

I’m sorry but the fact that this buddy-relationship drama was previously titled Chocolate Lizards, arguably the most bizarre movie title in motion picture history…the fact that Bristol or an associate was seemingly invested enough to create a poster…I’m sorry but this is a matter of some concern.

18-plus years ago All Movie Guide content director Kristi Coulter was feeling frustrated by Warner Bros.’ slow-roll-out release of Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby (‘05).

Chief Dan George was the first Native American actor to be Oscar-nominated (i.e., Best Supporting Actor, Little Big Man). He also won the New York Film Critics Circle trophy for this performance (“Old Lodge Skins”).

HE agrees that Barbie’s Greta Gerwig completely deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Director, certainly for the imagination, moxie and spunk that lifted her pink epic off the ground.

The idea of Anatomy of a Fall s Justine Triet or The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer taking her slot…I really don’t get it.

Unless the Academy’s mostly male director’s branch had a bug up their ass about Barbie’s misandrist satire…who knows? There’s no question that Barbie pretty much despises the XY community or at least regards them with a measure of contempt or pity…c’mon.

That said, “Marty the Martell”’s 1.23 Reddit post struck me as moderately sensible and perceptive as far as it went.

A 4K Italian Bluray of Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance will be released on 3.18.24 — roughly two months hence. Which means that the pirates will soon after be streaming it, which of course will lower whatever value it has stateside.

I personally regard Coup de Chance as a very valuable viewing opportunity. I’ve spent several months begging to see it.

I’m told that a certain U.S.-based distributor is looking to open (or at least stream) Coup de Chance a couple of months hence, give or take. That’s not going to work out too well once the Italian Bluray pops.

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Spoken or written by Pauline Kael, presumably during the ‘70s or ‘80s. (It appears in “Conversations with Pauline Kael”, published in ‘96). She could have been talking about the ‘50s and ‘60s films of Stanley Kramer or the ‘60s films of Norman Jewison.

Thanks to Albert Finney (aka “Eddie Ginley”) for posting this quote.

L.A. Times film writer Jen Yamato, one of the most vocal and persistent advocates of diversity casting and the concept of identity and representation mattering as much if not more than merit in motion pictures, has been jettisoned by her employer in a major wave of dismissals.

On one hand I feel badly for any journalist who’s been cut loose, but on the other hand Yamato has sought to condemn and marginalize HE for reasons that I felt were rash, Salem-like, erroneous and cruel so I can’t shed too many tears. I hope she understands.

This morning’s Oscar nominations came from inside the bubble, and therefore reflected inside-the-bubble values up and down the line (cultural, cinematic, anti-Joe and Jane Popcorn).

Jeff and Sasha kicked their impressions around as best they could, and…well, here they are.

Again, the link.

“It Can’t Happen Here” was published during the heyday of fascism in Europe, which was reported on by Dorothy Thompson, Lewis’ wife.

“The novel describes the rise of Berzelius ‘Buzz’ Windrip, a demagogue who is elected President of the United States, after fomenting fear and promising drastic economic and social reforms while promoting a return to patriotism and ‘traditional’ values.

“After his election, Windrip takes complete control of the government via self-coup and imposes totalitarian rule with the help of a ruthless paramilitary force. The novel’s plot centers on journalist Doremus Jessup‘s opposition to the new regime and his subsequent struggle against it as part of a liberal rebellion.”