Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Welcome to RyanAdams.com motherfucker

I already like his rap career much better than that other thing he does ("So Alive" excepted).

Sunday, September 24, 2006

cinema(theque)

I've started a new cinema blog. Not sure if I'll be duplicating content here but I'm hoping this helps me regain my film-focus.

Chained to the Cinémathèque.

[if you'd like to join the team, let me know.]


on a (vaguely) related note, I'm leaving for Paris next weekend for a while. and, as you'll see on the new blog, thinking about breaking some cinematic records.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

réalisé sans aucun trucage ni accéléré

which usually translates to "made without special effects or fast motion"
but in this case means "completely and totally insane"

this film has been an underground classic since it premiered in 1976. It's a 9-minute high-speed race through Paris, shot in one uninterrupted forward-facing shot. made with no permits, no streets blocked off, many red lights ignored, a few one way streets driven up the wrong way, and a some pedestrian and automotive near-misses, this is Claude Lelouch's finest hour (yes, that Claude Lelouch). he was arrested after the first screening. he claimed he had hired a Formula 1 driver for the film, but would never release the name of the driver. the audio on the film is of a Ferrari engine, and based on the soundtrack fans have speculated that the car was a Ferrari 275GTB. rumors abound that he's hitting speeds of 140 MPH on the residential streets of Paris. I can't say whether this was intended as an art-film attack on the synthetic Hollywood action of, say, Bullitt, but it comes off as one. enjoy Claude Lelouch's "C'était Un Rendezvous":












now that you've seen it you should know: Claude himself was the driver. The car was his Mercedes. he probably never went faster than 85 or 90 mph. but... WOW.

If YouTube's not enough for you, please go buy the dvd:

Saturday, August 12, 2006

KillerMike4Prez

I am not even kidding I am writing in Killer Mike for President in 2008.

this is the reason: "That's Life"

Thursday, August 03, 2006

He once held an opponent's wife hand / in a jar of acid / at a party

He'll save children but not the British children.

Washington, Washington:

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

It's Gotta Be Now


the best half hour of TV I've seen in some time was tonight's episode of Cidade dos Homens (City of Men) on Sundance channel. The episode is called "It's Gotta Be Now" and it's my new favorite portrayal of teenagers and the weird mix of love and lust that swallows them in the presence of the opposite sex.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Typical Girls

The Slits are coming to the United States!

Nov. 1 2006 New York, NY - Knitting Factory as part of CMJ, playing with the Apes

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Monday, July 17, 2006

jewish superheroes

Salon recently had an article about how Jewish men were no longer the kind of commanding masculine cultural presences as they have been in the past (see: Leonard Cohen). It has this throwaway line on how Hollywood's "Jewish women have never been better represented. Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Amanda Peet, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Selma Blair."

Leading to the "!!" moment of "Scarlett Johansson is Jewish!" (yup.)

Salon's sidebar article was on the 10 Jewish leading men who could break through and return Jewish leading men to masculine prominence.
Let me just say: I'm often compared to #1 on looks, #5 on style, and I lost the lead in Rushmore to #4.

Michael Chabon (Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) nearly wrote a script for the Fantastic Four movie. here's his pitch.
He also made a pitch for the 1st X-Men movie. I haven't read this yet but I'm imagining a "wow" moment on par with the Scarlett Johansson revelation above.
Thanks Cinematical.

Amanda Congdon, formerly host of Rocketboom, was pushed out the other week. She put up an explanation at Amanda UnBoomed (further details here). The new girl is just OK as her replacement - which is overwhelmingly disappointing. Amanda, you're too smart to go away for long.

Since by now I'm completely off topic, Michael Bay is directing a movie version of the Transformers and the website has a teaser trailer with what looks like some stock footage, 12 frames from the film, and the name Michael Bay at the end.

If this were a manifesto I'd sign it

My official foreign policy platform:
An American Foreign Policy That Both Realists and Idealists Should Fall in Love With by Robert Wright

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Feline Soul

those 'funny' videos on the internet are always really stupid.
except for this one:
Independent Woman, played by kittens.
thanks Gina.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Hamdan

the Hamdan decision came down today. "NYTimes: "The Supreme Court today delivered a sweeping rebuke to the Bush administration, ruling that the military tribunals it created to try terror suspects violate both American military law and the Geneva Convention."

Friday, June 23, 2006

jagshemash!!



Pitchfork's 100 Awesome Music Videos is tons of fun.

Sometimes, I wonder if there's a pool around Fork HQ to see who will next revive the apparently-defunct "Pitchfork Line of the Day". Ryan Schreiber, you are our lucky winner:

At seven years old, watching this on "Friday Night Videos" was one of those super insignificant media-consumer rites of passage, like seeing your first hockey fight or throat stabbing or man getting fucked to death by a horse. The world never looks the same.


the trailer for the film adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake looks better than I thought it would.

but it's really hard to compete with the Borat movie.

Monday, June 12, 2006

continued

Yes, the hiatus is ongoing, but you cannot miss this.

PS - my pics from last night's quasi-secret Rapture show are up

Monday, May 15, 2006

CANNES PREVIEW 2006 (Part 1)

Cannes ’06 Preview (Part 1):
One more year without a pass... for the real news from on site I'd check the New York Times blog that A.O. and Mahnola are (hopefully) doing again this year... Nerve has Mike D'Angelo there writing a blog as well. in the meantime, here's an (extensive) primer on what we're all missing.

I'm just dealing with feature films in the Competition... to truly tackle short films and the other features I'd need to be there, or at least not be making TV all the time.

Wong Kar-Wai is presiding over a star-studded Feature Films Jury: Monica Belluci, Helena Bonham Carter, Lucrecia Martel, Zhang Ziyi, Samuel L. Jackson, Patrice LeConte, Tim Roth, Elia Suleiman.

The opening film is Ron Howard's The DaVinci Code. It screens tomorrow night but the press screening was tonight. Even though there have been almost no leaks (because there haven't been any test screenings), you already know everything you need to about this movie: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Akiva Goldsman.

The films in competition:

Pedro Almodóvar: Volver

Volver stars Carmen Maura as a woman who, after her death, returns as a ghost to her hometown to resolve the loose ends she left in her life. Penelope Cruz and Lola Dueñas are her daughters, and Yohana Cobo plays her granddaughter.
Carmen Maura stars in her first Almodóvar film since Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). Carmen was in the best of his early-period films: Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (1980), ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!! (1984), Matador (1986), La Ley del deseo (1987), and Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988). Its very exciting to see her back in the Almodóvar fold.

Sony Pictures Classics will release Volver in the US on June 23. The SPC press release calls Volver a "meeting of 'Mildred Pierce' (Michael Curtiz) and 'Arsenic and Old Lace' (Frank Capra), combined with the surrealistic naturalism of Almodóvar's fourth film, '¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!!' (What Have I Done to Deserve This?)."
Inspired by his own mother, Volver indulges Almodóvar's obsession with female relationships, death, and motherhood, also exploring the gap between the places we come from and we places live (the people we were and the people we have become?).
Almodóvar won the best director prize in 1999 for All About My Mother.



The HD-shot British film Red Road is the first feature from Andrea Arnold. It's part of a project conceived by Lars von Trier where "three different promising writer-directors make three different features all using the same actors playing the same characters." (Variety). Andrea's 2003 short "Wasp" won the Oscar for best live-action short and the short film prize at Sundance in 2005.



Lucas Belvaux has a new film at Cannes, La Raison Du Plus Faible (The Weakest Is Always Right). While I don't know much about it (except that it's about a holdup, and either a drama and/or a comedy), a Belvaux film is an event for his ambition alone. In 2002, he released The Trilogy, a series of 3 films (On The Run / An Amazing Couple / After Life) that follow a a set of interlocking characters. Each film, though, uses different genre conventions: An Amazing Couple is comedy, On The Run is a noir thriller, After Life is a romantic drama.
Here is an interview with Belvaux about The Trilogy. He's also a significant actor, with over 40 films to his credit, including the lead in La Raison Du Plus Faible.



Indigènes follows 4 of the Algerian French soldiers who helped liberate France in WWII. It hans't been often recognizedr that thousands of the soldiers who liberated France in the 1940's were recruited from French colonies in Africa. In 1996 director Rachid Bouchareb was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for "Poussières de vie" ["Dust of Life"].



Israel Adrián Caetano brings Crónica de una fuga from Argentina. GoodAirs sums it up as "The story of four Argentine men, more or less free of political leanings, who are kidnapped and taken to a 'detention center' in the aptly-named suburb of Morón in the late 70s, the movie follows 120 days of interrogation and torture until the men escape one rainy night." having seen trailers / reas synopses / etc, I am superexcited to see this film. Peruse the website it's a good one. Caetano's A Red Bear was in the Director's Fortnight in '02, and got a ton of Silver Condor nominations (from the Argentina Film Critics Association). Crónica was an unexplaiend late add to the Competition, originally selected for Un Certain Regard.



Iklimler ("Climates") is a Turkish film by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Ceylan won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2003 for Uzak ("Distant").
Please watch the trailer for Iklimler, it's really good.



Sofia Coppola is presenting Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman. I've already addressed this film somewhat in previous posts. Check the most recent international trailer here.



Pedro Costa's Juventude en Marcha is, i think, the only Portuguese film in Competition this year. It is about the passage of time in one's life - at least I think so. It's actual plot involves the impending demolition of a neighborhood, a woman leaving her husband, and an old man who thinks he is young.



Guillermo del Toro brings his horror-fairy tale "Pan's Labyrinth" to the Festivale... per Guillermo, Pan's Labyrinth "is the story of a young girl that travels with her mother and adoptive father to a rural area up North in Spain, 1944. After Franco´s victory. The girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation and faces the real world with much chagrin. Post-war Fascist repression is at its height in rural Spain and the girl must come to terms with that through a fable of her own." Trailer at the website. del Toro is the filmmaker behind Cronos, and The Devil's Backbone, and Hellboy... as well as Mimic and Blade 2.



Flanders is Bruno Dumont's latest... it's a love story, and a war story. Dumon'ts L'Humanité won the Grand Jury Prize, Best Actor, and Best Actress awards at Cannes in 1999 [with 2 nonprofessional stars!].


10 down, 10 to go... another brief intro to the films should be expected soon... also expect me to pepper the blog with quotations of other people's reactions to the films and links and pics stolen from anyone in Cannes with an internet connection.

Plus, I bet you can't wait to hear my reaction to Mission Impossible III. Be ready for "An Open Letter to J.J. Abrams," coming soon.

Sunday, May 14, 2006

The prettiest girls you've ever met


pipettes
Originally uploaded by unpop.




You should go watch the very, very cute video from The Pipettes for "Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me."

I love that their bio namechecks Phil Spector but also The Pop Group and DNA.

I'm smitten by their sound.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

speechless too often

but especially now

Thom Yorke Solo Album Revealed!

UPDATE: I never posted a link to website for Thom's solo/ish thing. Here:
The eraser.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

music post 9.May.06

Mission of Burma have confirmed dates for a short tour that will lead them up to the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago on July 30th.

They play NYC on July 14 at Warsaw in Brooklyn

There's also a presale for these shows starting tomorrow (Wed) at 10 AM (but not, apparently, for the Bklyn show. bah.)

Tour dates / presale info at the Burma website

Also, there's a listening party for the new album Tuesday May 23 upstairs at Pianos and May 27 at Tiswas 2.0... other listening parties across the country as well so check the website for those also.


Dave Allen, bass player for the Gang of Four, has a blog at Pampelmoose. Dave has also officially taken over stewardship of the Go4 MySpace page [don't send him a message, he doesn't have time to respond].


Art Brut's Bang Bang Rock and Roll finally got an official US release Tuesday. here's a live MP3 of Moving to LA from a show they did in Amsterdam


political news of the day was the President of Iran's letter to President Bush.
also, pick a winner in the Bush + Nixon photo finish


more cinema posts on the way... warming you up for Cannes kickoff post that I hopefully will get together before the Festivale kicks off

what it said was so pretty


this story from a recent Said the Gramophone post is totally worth reading.

I've been meaning to put this up for some time. It's the Archigram remix of Madonna's "Hung Up." I'm sure it's been floating around the interweb for some time but if you've missed it it's pretty good (YSI).

I should have an extra guest list spot to see Irving, Beirut, and Group Sounds on Wednesday at the Knitting Factory - email me if you want to go and I'll see what I can do. As a blogger who listens to music, I am now required to tell you that Beirut is [insert positive but hyperbolic complement here].

Beirut:


oh look! a picture of Beirut the band:


OK, I have a contractually-obligated mixtape to write some liner notes for... I'm off.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Personal experiences

Just asking: what's the best quickest way to get good grades in New Jersey?

The Harvard Independent has consolidated all of its coverage of KaavyaGate on one page.

Schadenfreude? No, but she got what's coming to her.

What is it with these Harvard kids, anyway?


Also, nice to see that Gawker counted all 8,021 of my votes. Have you watched that Colbert video yet?

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Stephen Harper Eats Babies

Run, while there's still time!

Yes he does.

"We regret that it happened and we're sorry if anybody was offended, including the prime minister," Sorensen said.

24 mai


There's a new + improved European trailer for Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette. The movie will be in competition at Cannes. Watch the new trailer here.

Cannes 2006 Preview Post coming soon...

MTV Movie Awards Announce Host...


Alba!

sigh

Iran-Israel threats? it seems to me that the statement was issued at a pretty low level, so... it probably means they aren't all that serious. but was it authorized?? who is Mohammad-Ebrahim Dehqani?

The enrichment's less of a problem than the big talk. IF they're serious about only enriching up to 5% [dubious].

Monday, May 01, 2006

Friday, April 28, 2006

if you ever need a guest lecturer...

Photo by Alex Dunk for the Tufts Daily

Clint Conley: guest lecturer?

Almost as cool as that time he offered me a job.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

I don't know if there's anything quite as manly as withstanding this intense pain

I've been watching Jack Black's 'Nacho Libre Confessional' video podcast. 13 episodes on iTunes so far and, as you could imagine, absolutely spectacular. (the link above isn't as up to date as iTunes, but it's a start)


Nacho Libre is a film by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), written by Jared & Jerusha Hess (who wrote ND) and Mike White (who wrote every other good movie ever), and starring Jack Black as a priest who dons a masks and moonlights as a luchador in order to save an orphanage from closing.
Yeah, you heard me.
Trailer here.




oh, ok, here's episode 3 of the Confessionals. enjoy:

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Lala


The website lala.com is new, and works like this:
You become a member. tell them what CDs you have and what CDs you want. Someone requests a CD from your list and you send it out (though you can always decline and decide to keep it). Then someone else sends you a CD from your want list. You pay $1 to the website (20% of which goes to the artist) and 49¢ shipping per cd.
This is amazing.

Basically, there's someone out there who wants my No Doubt CD that I bought 11 years ago, and I just sit and wait for someone else to send me, say, the new Animal Collective or some old Swans record.

I love this already.

Membership is by invitation only; the invite system isn't set up yet but will be up and running soon. So if you're interested in joining, drop me a line and when invites become available I'll send you one.

I've already got Sketches of Spain en route; if only I didn't leave all my never-listened-to CDs in back Boston... from now on I'm buying any used CD under $5.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Girlysound


Liz Phair Experience has a serious treasure trove of early Liz Phair demos. Good quality mp3s of 2 Girly Sound cassettes from 1991, Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word To Ya Muthuh, and Girls Girls Girls. Don't wait go get 'em.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

my same dilemma


photo courtesy Associated Press

It is unknown whether Schrödinger actually owned a cat


that's not related to anything I just really like the photo.
via Wikipedia

Sunday, April 16, 2006

YOU MEAN REVERSE SLIDER GRIP? / I CALL IT SOMETHING ELSE BUT YES / ... WHAT DO YOU CALL IT / SLIDER GRIP


Nick Sylvester tells all!

Gawker is all like 'you should read it but get high first'
I say you should read it.

But seriously, you should be high when you read it.


I'll throw Nick's new spot a link too: Riff Market


I will now just quote from the piece as long as I feel like it.


A MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR THE WOMEN OF ENRON

/////

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: DID YOU GO TO ONE OF THOSE COLLEGE WHERE THE LGBLTSA CALLS APRIL GAYPRIL?

NICK SYLVESTER: YES

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: GO ON

/////

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: DID HE HOLD THEM WITH HIS THUMB AND INDEX FINGER WHILE HIS OTHER THREE FINGERS INEXPLICABLY JUTTED OUT

NICK SYLVESTER: YOU MEAN REVERSE SLIDER GRIP?

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: I CALL IT SOMETHING ELSE BUT YES

NICK SYLVESTER: ...

NICK SYLVESTER: WHAT DO YOU CALL IT

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: SLIDER GRIP

/////

NICK SYLVESTER: WE TALKED A BUNCH AND I SENT HIM A BUNCH OF CDS HE SHOULD LISTEN TO

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: DID YOU SEND HIM THE BORIS

NICK SYLVESTER: YEAH HE LOVED IT, HE SAID "BEST OF GENRE"

GAME @RIFFCENTRAL: ROFFLE

/////

Friday, April 14, 2006

Rocketboom

the Rocketboom studio

I just discovered Rocketboom, Amanda Congdon's amazing daily video video blog. It should really be the first 3 minutes of your day every day. She was recently named one of Paper Magazine's Beautiful People 2006.
Here's why:



Photos courtesy of amandacongdon.com

To further prove my point about Rocketboom's awesomeness, Amanda's the reason I found out about "Rabbits," David Lynch's 9-Part (so far) live-action DV-shot "sitcom." The best description I've read: "In a nameless city, deluged by a continuous rain, three rabbits live with a fearful mystery." (LynchNet). Starring Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, and Scott Coffey. It's available to pay subscribers on DavidLynch.com, or for the rest of us: on YouTube. [if you really like what you see, spring for a subscription. David Lynch is worth it.]

Thursday, April 13, 2006

L, A take LA

Aaron Hilliard and Luke Del Tredici Co-Produce New Fox Sitcom

cool.

Speaking of Wesleyan Mafia takeover maneuvers, we got Universal.


Unrelated but fabulous - the disposable Seder plate:

wish I had known about that yesterday.



so apparently I'm back in the blogging game?

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Boccaccio and Barton, together at last

Decameron: Angels and Virgins
starring Mischa B. and Hayden Christiansen


what?

hmmm.. Pier Paolo Pasolini vs. David Leland...

though I do think Mischa can pull this off. She's significantly underrated as an actress, and as long as the casting is done with a nod to her range, she can be very good. I believe she will shine in this movie, precisely for it's lightness.

they certainly are casting some (other) very pretty women

but, can they act?

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Times takes over

Forget Pitchfork, today's Line of the Day is from the Old Gray Lady:

As the costumed dancers pranced, the glittery frontman, Casey Spooner, declared, "This war is ridiculous!" And while he may not be an expert on war, he's certainly an expert on ridiculous." – Kelefa Sanneh


Also:
I really dislike this man.


Here's the newest reason why.

THE SLITS REUNITE!!!



THE SLITS REUNITE!!!

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

This day just keeps getting better


Os Mutantes Reunion Coming to U.S.

07-21 New York, NY - Webster Hall!!!!! (and also to LA)

Basque Homeland, Liberty, and Safety



ETA announces a permanent ceasefire

NYTimes

El Pais (Spanish)

El Mundo (Spanish)

ETA's official statement (English translation)

eitb24 (English)

Gara (Spanish)

no links in Euskadi yet but some later I promise

the greatness of this news is impossible to overstate

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

democracy is in the streets, and in the universities, and the factories


check out the excellent (English-language) blog covering the protests of young workers in France against the new CPE legislation.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Basketball Upset Shocker!

Today I cut a basketball highlight of Wichita State vs. Tennessee.

Wichita State won the game in a big upset, but this is not important.
What is important - the Wichita State nickname is the 'Shockers'. Yes, their official nickname.
So I made sure to start off the highlight the only way I know how:
With a group of WSU cheerleaders DOING THE SHOCKER.

I wish I had a screen capture to show you. It was priceless.

I imagine you know what I mean, but just in case:


If you don't know what that's all about, then I can't help you.


Also, the headline on GoShockers.com right now is: "Shockers are Sweet".
Oh those crazy college kids.


A special note to any of my bosses that may be reading this: Since most of America does not know anything about this, 'the Shocker' is not obscene. Shots of Shocker fans giving the Shocker have been all over ESPN, CBS, and any network running Wichita State highlights all season long (and probably for the last 5 years at least). Also, I challenge you to find a shot of cheerleaders or fans where they're NOT doing that gesture... good luck.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

natalie portman, gangsta rapper


Natalie Portman SNL Rap

No questions just watch it.


[lots of links are going down but search YouTube for "Natalie Portman SNL rap" and that'll do the trick]

Speaking of SNL rap hilarity: check it out, somebody made shirts inspired by Lazy Sunday (though I still prefer Johnny Cupcakes).


Also, saw the first 2 episodes of Entourage tonight (yes, for the first time). how good is that show!?!?

Zooey gets frisky


While looking for Oscar-related content Sunday night and Monday, I found an article on ABC news that talked about the Independent Spirit Awards, which they called the Anti-Oscars.

Here's a quote:

Actress Zooey Deschanel wore a short, colorful dress that she said was "maybe a little short for the Oscars."
No problem at the Indys, though.
"You can kind of slut it up, you know?" Deschanel said.


Zooey Deschanel (ODSBIS of 81) 'slutting it up,' and I'm not there to see it? Now I AM disappointed that I wasn't invited. At least my nemesis is no longer her boyfriend... but she was flirting with Benjamin MacKenzie (Ryan on The OC), which is both good and bad (good - she likes good TV; bad - Ben is probably hotter than me). At least the internet is so good for pictures.

Monday, March 06, 2006

The Return

After a long weekend of work work work...

Dave Should Get Out More is officially relaunching the (sporadic) Pitchfork Line of the Day Feature, brought out of hibernation by this gem:

"If this were the Suburbs, releasing a critically acclaimed debut album and getting tabbed as the second coming of Public Image Ltd. wouldn't be such a huge deal. You'd make yourself some mac and cheese, play a few rounds of Animal Crossing, and calmly plot out your next move.

But this is the Wilderness, people! It's kill or be killed!"



Wilderness is touring with - deep breath - Liars in Germany and the Parts and Labor in the US. some scattered dates with Deerhoof and with Black Dice. When I curate the 2014 All Tomorrow's Parties you will be able to see all these bands in one day... if you can't wait that long then you'll just have to follow Wilderness around on tour, then, won't you?

This book is currently blowing me away: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Don't skip it.

Asobi Seksu opens for Serena Maneesh tonight here in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. 50/50 you'll see me there.

Londoners:
Johnny Boy plays Live Sat April 1 at Stay Beautiful, Purple Turtle. Best name for a club I've ever heard.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Ian, Resurrected

Photo © Anton Corbjin

It's official: Sam Riley is playing Ian Curtis in the forthcoming film Control

Some excerpts from the memo I got:

"Sam Riley has been cast as lead singer Ian Curtis and Alexandra Maria Lara as his lover Annik on music video director Anton Corbijn's Control, his fact-based debut feature on UK post-punk band Joy Division.

It is a first big role for newcomer Riley – the troubled Curtis was in his early 20s when he committed suicide in 1980 – whereas Lara played Hitler's secretary in Downfall and has just finished work on Francis Ford Coppola's Youth By Youth alongside Bruno Ganz and Tim Roth.

It was already known that Samantha Morton would play Deborah Curtis, who wrote the book on which Matt Greenhalgh's script is based.

The Control team is still closing finance but hopes to being shooting in mid-2006 in Manchester, Macclesfield and other areas of England."
---

I am excited. Alexandra Platareanu will be great as Annik (she's originally Romanian, and that's her given name). If you haven't seen Downfall, here's what she looks like:








Talented, adorable, etc.

And, this new guy has definitely got the look.

Plus, Sam as Deborah... I get more excited about this by the day.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

me or someone like me


This is clearly the kind of work I'd be doing if I were in college:
Global Conflict, here we coooooooooome.
Well done Carl. Very fine work, though some of your analogies seem a bit stretched, and I would've like to have seen more detail on France's shifting relationship to Russia in terms of the last few weeks in the life of Julie Cooper. A-.



Watch the video and prove it: she did actually say "Fuck Yeah." Sasha you're awesome.


Human Rights First put up their report Command's Responsibility: Detainee Deaths in U.S. Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan. Special thanks to Mike, who had a big hand in putting it together.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Fuck Yeah!



Sasha - terrific skate. now get some rest and get ready for the long program.

And yeah, we saw you say that on (inter)national television.

Monday, February 13, 2006

cousin makes good


further thoughts on Nelly Furtado's new song "Promiscuous Girl" [see previous post]:

Amazing. This song's not a straight-up club banga - well, actually it is, but it has actual content as well, which makes it already yards better than "In Da Club" (plus, it's catchier). Actually, Fuck That, it just the best song I've heard all year (with apologies to everything by Bonde Do Role)

Nelly's been incorporating great musical influences - she's a big Bloc Party fan, went to see Death From Above 1979 last spring and loved it; is into Feist and M.I.A., etc. This can only mean good things for the new record ("Loose").

Timbaland also produced the remix of her 1st single, "Maneater". The only thing better than Timbaland and Nelly Furtado working together might be the imagined track in my head, in which they team up to cover Hall and Oates. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.
The remix will feature Lil Wayne.
The "Maneater" single gets released 1st week of March.

Timbaland produced more than half of the album, but she worked with a bunch of of other producers - including Scott Storch and Pharrell. The actual album will only have 14 of those tracks.
One of those other tracks is "All Good Things Come to an End", is a collaboration with Coldplay's Chris Martin. Shakira's producer Lester Mendez produced the Spanish-language reggaeton-style "No Hay Igual."


To clarify: (unconfirmed) distant cousins. we've never met.

Update: YSIs now up for Promiscuous Girl and Maneater. Enjoy.