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This isn't the first time Stanley Donen, Elaine May and Jeannie Berlin all worked together. I highly suggest tracking down Adult Entertainment, a play written by May, directed by Donen and co-starring Berlin about aging pornstars trying to create an "art" film. Very funny quick read. If you can't get enough of May, track down her plays. They're well worth it.

Also, in defense of Berlin, I hated Margaret and found Jeannie Berlin's presence one of the few good things about it. And Charles Grodin is fantastic in everything. He steals each scene of Ishtar, is a better, stressed-out father in the very underrated Clifford than in any Beethoven movie and makes feeling uncomfortable feel so perfect in The Heartbreak Kid. Can't wait to see him in the new Baumbach as well.

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:And Charles Grodin is fantastic in everything. He steals each scene of Ishtar, is a better, stressed-out father in the very underrated Clifford than in any Beethoven movie and makes feeling uncomfortable feel so perfect in The Heartbreak Kid. Can't wait to see him in the new Baumbach as well.

He also stole every scene he has from DeNiro in Midnight Run. Also had a great cameo in So I Married An Axe Murderer.

Grodin is one of the main reasons why The Great Muppet Caper is the best Muppet film.

William Hurt drops out of Gregg Allman bio-pic Midnight Rider, and not too hard to understand why.

His email is shocking. Where the fuck was the director in all this? Someone in that production needs to be in jail for this.

Now Gregg Allman himself wants production to stop.

In light of this tragic death it feels a little harsh to say, but I never understood how a Gregg Allman bio-pic was ever greenlit in the first place. I read his autobiography and it was a good read but I couldn't see much of an interesting film out of it.

Judging by this outstanding Grover Lewis Rolling Stone article, an Allman Bros. pic would be pretty good in the right hands.

It's too bad the one with Lili Taylor and Stone Cold Steve Austin never happened.

domino harvey wrote:Looks like the Amy Adams Janis Joplin pic is finally happening, possibly with recent biopic superstar Jean-Marc Vallee helming

I hope this finally happens. I was just thinking about this the other day and had come to the conclusion that since there'd been no news for so long it was never going to happen. I mean for how long was the Renee Zellweger one supposed to be happening and then never did?

All the accounts of this (including Hurt's) suggest a level of knowing carelessness and negligence in the name of some sort of self-styled badass 'guerrilla filmmaking.' Makes me really angry that all he's getting is 2 years in prison, the 10 year sentence made a lot more sense. I can just hear the eventual commentary track in which the director is bragging about how trains were running on that track and they really got some cool footage despite it as if he was some sort of brave, brazen renegade. Fuck him.

In the age of cell phones it seems like it would be real easy to station a person a few miles down the tracks in each direction.

Though it was all stupidly handled to begin with (I'm still shocked they went ahead with what is a dangerous shot despite not getting permission or letting anyone that mattered know) that would have at least been something someone should have thought of (though still no guarantee that would have changed things).

That's actually how you're supposed to do it, even and especially when you've got official permission to shoot around what would then be presumably unused train tracks. It's certainly one added component in the rules that the NYC MTA necessitates when shooting in and around subway lines.

That's what I would have thought, so thanks for clearing that up. I would expect people with radios or something, but if you're a low budget movie and you're doing it illegally (and I should stress I'm not condoning any of this at all) and on the fly I really am still stunned someone didn't think that would have been a good idea. Did Hurt and others think they were actually doing it by the book?

I'm going to repeat a question in the comments section of that article here: exactly what cultural cache does this have now? She's one of the founding members of the 27 club, but her legacy hasn't exactly sustained itself the way the other two (Hendrix and Morrison) have. Classic rock and oldies stations really only just play "Piece Of My Heart" and "Me And Bobby McGee" anymore. I have grown up around girls and young women who were fans (and I am one myself, more moderately though), though probably as much admiring of her "legend" as they were her music.

It might be less to do with the music though than any turbulent private life or way of connecting the individual to a wider issue-driven narrative? That usually seems to be the case with biopics.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:I'm going to repeat a question in the comments section of that article here: exactly what cultural cache does this have now? She's one of the founding members of the 27 club, but her legacy hasn't exactly sustained itself the way the other two (Hendrix and Morrison) have. Classic rock and oldies stations really only just play "Piece Of My Heart" and "Me And Bobby McGee" anymore. I have grown up around girls and young women who were fans (and I am one myself, more moderately though), though probably as much admiring of her "legend" as they were her music.

Hendrix is in a class by himself, but I would take Janis Joplin over the Doors. They certainly were more influential - the impression they made on Iggy Pop alone translates into some indirect influence over a whole generation of alternative/punk rockers, whether they like their music or not - but I strongly prefer her output to those with Jim Morrison.

I wouldn't give any weight over what classic rock/oldies stations play, they're even more conservative than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For example, except for the occasional Clash record and a handful of New Wave hits, they ignore pretty much anything that has any strong connection to punk. They're even pretty conservative with artists who have become classic rock staples, ignoring some of their best and most influential work - except for "Heroes," almost everything David Bowie did with Brian Eno gets passed over.

Still, Joplin's cultural presence has definitely diminished over the years, and sadly, a lot of that may have to do with the way her estate has been handled (or rather not handled).

Put this in the category of "almost never happened"; a computer error almost rendered the whole of Toy Story 2 into oblivion.

The podcasting network Wolfpop announced a new weekly podcast in their newsletter today that should be interesting:

April 16th - The Black List Table Reads

The Black List Table Reads takes the best and most exciting screenplays Hollywood hasn't yet made, and turns them into movies for your ears. Black List founder Franklin Leonard presents a new script every month read by a rotating cast of talented actors, along with interviews with members of the Hollywood screenwriting community and beyond. Follow the coveted stories as they unfold on The Black List Table Reads Thursdays on Wolfpop.com.

There's tons of interesting material in the Black List that gets passed over, so I'm interested in hearing some of this/their approach to the dramatization(s).