“Disappointment Blvd.” Has Been Bumped Into ’23

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If A24 was smart, they would screen Ari Aster‘s four-hour version of Disappointment Blvd. at Venice and Telluride two months hence, and then release two versions a few weeks later — i.e., the shorter version that A24 management allegedly prefers plus the four-hour cut. They could release the shorter version theatrically while releasing the longer version via streaming. Or vice versa or any which way. It would become a huge thing to see both and debate the differences.

Jack Cardiff’s “Young Cassidy”

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Today Cassidy Hutchinson became the new John Dean, and in so doing carved her name and testimony into the marble stone of history.

Today’s testimony from 26-year-old Hutchinson, who is either a young Millennial or an elderly Zoomer, is obviously fatal to Donald Trump. Cassidy has testified that Trump knew there was a clear potential for violence at the Capitol on January 6th, meaning that Trump knew that several in the crowd were planning to go armed to the Capitol. And that Trump lost it when he was told by the Secret Service he couldn’t go to the Capitol…grabbed the steering wheel, “I’m the fucking President!”, etc.

Who hasn’t known for years that Trump — pre-, during- and post-Presidency — has always been a deranged, intemperate, sociopathic ass-clown?

Woody’s Upcoming Paris Flick May Be His Last

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Seven days ago Jordan Ruimy reported that Woody Allen “is close to shooting his next film in Paris, possibly in October. It’s said to be a darker drama in the same vein as Match Point [with a] French- and English-speaking cast. There are no additional plot details, or a title for that matter.

“This would be Allen’s 50th film as a director” — and possibly his last, according to what the 86-year-old Allen told Alec Baldwin earlier today — “so you know that he’ll want to knock it out of the park.”

Two hours ago Deadline reported similar news — shooting in Paris in the late summer or early fall — after listening to the Baldwin-Allen interview. But without any mention of the forthcoming film having any alleged Match Point-like similarities.

No discussions of the notorious Dylan Farrow incident that allegedly occured in August 1992, and no mention of HBO’s Allen vs. Farrow doc that explored that incident, and no mentions of Baldwin’s horrible Rust incident that resulted in the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

The Man Who Moose-Knuckled Liberty Valance

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One of the most familiar and widely commented upon John Wayne photos to ever hit the internet. I don’t why I’m posting this, and I don’t even know what the above headline means. But it came to me a couple of minutes ago and it sounded good so I went with it.

Divided America

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If I was living in the left-side home, I probably wouldn’t have a BLM sign in my front yard as that would indicate that I’m living in the recent past (early summer of ’20).

I would instead post a political sign that points forward — forward to a sensible, fair-minded, left-center government, headed by a moderately charismatic, quick-witted, not-too-old President who isn’t owned by the wokesters and knows how to talk straight and plain to the hinterlanders.

That’s a dream, of course.

I’d like to think that the overturning of Roe v. Wade will energize voters and lead to a surge of support for at least some Democratic candidates, and that the left in general might not be heading for a general all-around slaughter in November. I’d love to see Beto O’Rourke win in Texas, for example. And Val Demmings in Florida.

Alas, Democrats are probably stuck with Biden running in ’24, and that means an almost certain loss. With Trump being discredited left and right that means Ron DeSantis might actually be elected President. Yes, bizarre as that sounds.

Bret Stephens in 6.27.22 “Conversation” column, “The Supreme Court’s Fighting Words“:

“Moon” For The Misbegotten

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World of Reel‘s Jordan Ruimy reports that he’s been “assured” that Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon will “indeed” be a 2022 release. Good to hear, but will it open in November or December? We all understand that an Oscar contender has to be screened no later than Thanksgiving and preferably earlier.

We all assume that Marty and Thelma Schoonmaker are working their fingers to the bone. They’ve been editing since the fall of ’21, then came the extra shooting, and now they’re back at it. How could they announce in good conscience “we can’t finish until ’23”? Where would be the honor in that?

It’s Obvious What This Is

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And in a way, I’ve been there. I accidentally hit a dog nine years ago in Spain. The boys and I were driving south on a dirt road in the dark, and a cat and a dog ran in front of us. I slowed down but didn’t quite stop, and the dog ran off, obviously in pain and crying. It was awful. It would be 50 times worse to hit a young boy, of course, but slamming any living thing is horrible. I’ll never forget that moment.

Posted by TheWrap‘s Steve Pond on 9.11.21: “A dark and dirty morality play where nobody’s very concerned with morals, John Michael McDonagh’s The Forgiven takes some extremely questionable behavior and makes it as intriguing as it is off-putting. There’s a lot of despicable stuff going on in this efficiently nasty drama from the Irish writer-director of The Guard and Cavalry, but in the hands of McDonagh, Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain, you may actually find yourself caring for these people more than they care for themselves.”

Baldwin-Allen Redux

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Jordan Ruimy: “Do you think this Alec Baldwin-Woody Allen interview is a good idea?”

HE: “Because Baldwin is a bit tainted along with Allen? One, as a Rust producer Baldwin may be vaguely or indirectly responsible for the accident, but he didn’t even pull the trigger, he said. That’s his stated position. Two, Baldwin interviewed Allen two years ago. Three, the Allen-Dylan thing will have to be touched upon once more, of course, but Woody has thoroughly covered the episode in question in “Apropos of Nothing.” There’s nothing new to say. Four, Baldwin’s only way of addressing the Allen-Dylan thing with any kind of fresh perspective is to ask about Allen v. Farrow (’21) and whether Allen wants to repeat his opinion. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Allen said that Allen v. Farrow filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick “had no interest in the truth”. He further accused Ziering-Dick of “collaborating with the Farrows and their enablers,” and only giving Allen and Previn a “matter of days” to respond to allegations about the case.

The Allen interview happens on Tuesday, 6.28 at 10:30 am.

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Dangling Pitney Conversation

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A curious conversation on Facebook Messenger…sorry.

Jeff [last name redacted]: “Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with the kids last night. It didn’t hold up much. However, I was singing the ‘end credits’ Gene Pitney song during the whole film, and then when we got to the end…no song. I looked it up and realized that I had originally seen the film on TV in the 70s and the song was not in the actual film, but some guy at the TV station must have overlaid it on to the end credits. Curious if you’ve ever heard of this weird TV artifact?”

HE: “’Some guy at the TV station’ couldn’t have overlaid or inserted the Gene Pitney song onto the end credits because there is no end credits sequence in Liberty Valance. It just ends with a final static shot of the moving train (25 mph!) that James Stewart and Vera Miles are riding on and then ‘The End.’ Maybe the TV station guy played the song over a black background or an artificial freeze frame.”

Jeff: “My memory is a bit foggy so I don’t know. I do know my brother and I sang the song for a month after we saw it, so the song and the film are inextricably entwined for us. Maybe John Ford had a sudden worry that the film would seem too light with a pop song bringing it home. Thanks for your two cents.”

HE: “What I told you isn’t my ‘two cents’ — it’s fact. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance doesn’t have an end-credits sequence. And it’s a stupid song anyway. It celebrates the awesome six-shooter bravery of the man who stood up to the evil Liberty Valance face to face and shot him dead. Stewart’s Ransom Stoddard character isn’t celebrated, but there’s a line that says “when the final showdown came at last, a law book was no good.”

Jeff: “A song doesn’t have to be smart to be catchy. I suppose the idea is that they were both somehow brave or noble. Stewart for standing up to Valance and Wayne for letting Stewart live, knowing that Vera Miles preferred him.”

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