540 The Darjeeling Limited

[Jeff]

On Saturday night, I saw The Darjeeling Limited for the second time at the Regal Arbor Cinemas here in Austin, TX. This time Jason Schwartzman was in attendance & did a Q&A after the screening. While getting a picture with him afterwards, I asked him if Criterion were going to be releasing it & he said "Yeah! They're already working on it."

Not surprising, even though Tamara was disavowing any knowledge of its existence a couple of months ago. When something official is announced, we can move this thread to the Criterion section.

[Polybius]

I also think this is the first time I've ever encountered anyone who has such raucous and abrasive reaction to Portman's body type. I mean, she's practically the size of a smurf, so it's not like she would look that great with a tonne of ba-dunk-a-dunk. I think a far better target for that type of body-type criticism within the mainstream would be Keira Knightley.

At the risk of pissing off the Mods by addressing this issue here, again...I must say that anyone who thinks Portman has a flat ass must have something very different than most of us as a baseline figure. Portman has a very generous bottom, especially for someone of her otherwise short and lithe body type. She's almost like an Escher drawing.

[Antoine Doinel]

On Saturday night, I saw The Darjeeling Limited for the second time at the Regal Arbor Cinemas here in Austin, TX. This time Jason Schwartzman was in attendance & did a Q&A after the screening. While getting a picture with him afterwards, I asked him if Criterion were going to be releasing it & he said "Yeah! They're already working on it."

Not surprising, even though Tamara was disavowing any knowledge of its existence a couple of months ago. When something official is announced, we can move this thread to the Criterion section.

Well, if this is true, I certainly hope they offer up some kind of deal where you can buy both TDL and The River for one price. I haven't seen the latter but as it was a large influence on the film, it would be wonderful to see it in that context.

[Antoine Doinel]

From IMDB:

Portman Regrets Nude Scene

Actress Natalie Portman insists she'll never bare all on the big screen again after regretting a saucy scene in new short film Hotel Chevalier. The shots of the actress baring all in the film hit the internet earlier this year - months before the movie hit festivals in September. And Portman admits she's rather upset about agreeing to do something she felt awkward about in the Wes Anderson-directed prelude to The Darjeeling Limited. She says, "I'm really sorry I didn't listen to my intuition. From now on, I'm going to trust my gut more. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is say no."

[Polybius]

Just when I think a cannot possibly be more tired of her act...she manages to chart some new territory.

[domino harvey]

From IMDB:

Portman Regrets Nude Scene

Actress Natalie Portman insists she'll never bare all on the big screen again after regretting a saucy scene in new short film Hotel Chevalier. The shots of the actress baring all in the film hit the internet earlier this year - months before the movie hit festivals in September. And Portman admits she's rather upset about agreeing to do something she felt awkward about in the Wes Anderson-directed prelude to The Darjeeling Limited. She says, "I'm really sorry I didn't listen to my intuition. From now on, I'm going to trust my gut more. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is say no."

more like bare some.

I guess this means no full frontal in Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium :/

[kaujot]

Yeah, that was a pretty rough nude scene, Natalie.

[Jeff]

Nat's changing her tune. When The Hollywood Reporter asked her why she agreed to do the scene, she replied:

"I don't know why, exactly. Sometimes you make rules for yourself and sometimes those rules are made to be broken. You have to test things out and see what works for you, and this felt right."

I imagine that it started to feel less "right" when the short went directly to the internet and the feature was less successful than hoped for. I suspect that when she filmed it she imagined being lauded for her "bravery" in a crucial scene in a critically and commercially successful Wes Anderson film. Instead, she showed her bare ass to a bunch of fanboys on the internet.

[Antoine Doinel]

Given the nature of the script and scenes, I don't know how anyone could read it as being "brave". Certainly not the kind of "bravery" that the Academy and mainstream critics tend to recognize (ie. Hally Berry's inexplicable Oscar for Monster's Ball). These are very formal, arty nude scenes. And probably certainly nothing like the stripper material that was cut from Closer.

She's probably read some of the fanboy heavy-breathing, sweaty-finger message-board drooling, blogosphere whack-off fantasies and got seriously grossed out. I don't blame her.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Given the nature of the script and scenes, I don't know how anyone could read it as being "brave". Certainly not the kind of "bravery" that the Academy and mainstream critics tend to recognize (ie. Hally Berry's inexplicable Oscar for Monster's Ball). These are very formal, arty nude scenes. And probably certainly nothing like the stripper material that was cut from Closer.

She's probably read some of the fanboy heavy-breathing, sweaty-finger message-board drooling, blogosphere whack-off fantasies and got seriously grossed out. I don't blame her.

She must've dropped onto our forum figuering she would see a hearty discussion about the Hotel Chevalier and then realized her ass stole the show.

She should've saw the movie not being a success when Fox decided to release the film out of the blue all over the country, with some theatres not getting the movie for an other few weeks.

I can see her seeing the scene as brave, but then again, I get the impression she's not too bright. Someone sohuld tell her to shut her trap and get over it. It's an ass. She wasn't penetrated on screen.

As someone who enjoyed her ass, let's quit the discussion on it!

[Lino]

Anyone know where this picture comes from?

[Antoine Doinel]

That is a beautiful poster. I hope it becomes the cover art for the (possible) Criterion release.

[Lino]

I went googling and apparently that's a phony artwork. But it is beautiful.

[Andre Jurieu]

Regarding the story about Portman regretting her nude scene in Hotel Chevalier, IMDb now reports:

Magazine Apologizes to Portman Over Film Mix-Up

UPDATE: A U.S. magazine has been forced to apologize to actress Natalie Portman after suggesting she's far from happy with her performance in short film Hotel Chevalier. Sunday supplement Parade stated Portman was talking about the movie, in which she appears nude, when she commented about an "uncomfortable" scene she shot in a forthcoming essay she wrote for the publication. But the actress' publicist, Kelly Bush, has pounced on Parade, insisting her client was actually talking about a torture scene in new film Goya's Ghosts. A statement from the magazine's publicist reads, "We say that Portman regrets doing a nude scene in the movie Hotel Chevalier. This is wrong. When Portman writes about this in Parade, she does not mention a specific movie title. She tells us she was referring to a torture scene with a body double in Goya's Ghosts, which was taken out of context and leaked onto the Internet. Portman is very happy with Hotel Chevalier and proud of her work in the film." In her essay, Portman admits she is still rather upset about agreeing to do something she felt awkward about, writing, "I'm really sorry I didn't listen to my intuition. From now on, I'm going to trust my gut more."

[Cold Bishop]

So she's unhappy with Goya's Ghost now? And with a body double too?

What ever happened to the Helen Mirens, Vanessa Redgraves, and Isabella Hupperts?

[Roger_Thornhill]

I've had little luck trying to find Hotel Chevalier for download over the last few days, probably because it'll included in the DLimited this Friday.

[kaujot]

I've had little luck trying to find Hotel Chevalier for download over the last few days, probably because it'll included in the DLimited this Friday.

It should be on iTunes still.

Saw the full film tonight and really, really enjoyed it. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it, actually.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Cold Bishop, note that the excellent actresses you mentioned are all Europeans. Natalie Portman is American and prone to those American body image quirks. We certainly need more Helen Mirrens, though, and espcially movies to match the talent.

[Antoine Doinel]

MySpace conversation with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson.

[Kirkinson]

Cold Bishop, note that the excellent actresses you mentioned are all Europeans. Natalie Portman is American and prone to those American body image quirks.

Indeed, and it may also be significant that their careers predate both the internet and the emergence of "fanboys" as a significant market influence.

[kaujot]

Tip for anyone in Austin:

The Alamo Drafthouse is showing Anderson's original short of Bottle Rocket during the preshow for Darjeeling.

[Jeff]

Wes Anderson dons his tiny suit to discuss Darjeeling with Charlie Rose.

[Magic Hate Ball]

Just got back from seeing this. Really terrific, although I don't know how well it will transfer to the smaller screen. I like it slightly more than Zissou and Rushmore, and slightly less than Tenenbaums. Reading the script a couple months ago, the two-act structure worried me, but it was handled very well.

Wes Anderson dons his tiny suit to discuss Darjeeling...

Is this a metaphor, or does he actually wear a tiny suit to interviews?

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

He tends to wear a hip brown suit, always a bit too small. Usually they are high waters too.

[exte]

Wes Anderson dons his tiny suit to discuss Darjeeling...

Is this a metaphor, or does he actually wear a tiny suit to interviews?

I thought the cover art threads were pushing the limits of this forum but now we have this...