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Film

10 Awesome Meta-Movies That Will Melt Your Mind

By Jason Bailey on

The Cabin in the Woods, the wickedly funny and winkingly knowing horror/comedy from director Drew Goddard and co-writer Joss Whedon, hits DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow, after a long-delayed theatrical run last spring that sent cinephiles spinning with pleasure. You see, Cabin is the latest example of our old friend the “meta-movie,” the films in which the act of moviemaking (and movie-watching) is part of the experience, and part of the narrative. After the jump, some thoughts on Cabin and nine more of our favorite self-aware motion pictures. … Read More

Film

New Details on Spike Jonze’s Next Project

By Caroline Stanley on

Doesn’t it seem like forever ago that Where The Wild Things Are? was in theaters? OK, so in reality, it was only 2009, but as longtime Spike Jonze fans we’ve been anxiously awaiting news of his next project, which we already know stars Joaquin Phoenix and his co-star in The Master, Amy Adams, alongside Rooney… Read More

Photography

Wonderful Photographs of Famous People Snapped By Their Famous Friends

By Emily Temple on

It’s well known that famous people often run in packs (rat, brat), and we’ve even heard rumors that they do normal things like hang out and take pictures of their friends. Since we’re obsessed with the ephemera of pop culture, we spent some time tracking down a few of those snapshots, whether staged or candid, rare or widely recognized, taken by everyone from Truman Capote to Lady Gaga. Click through to see our gallery of photographs of famous people snapped by their famous friends, and you may just begin evaluating your own photo albums for potential stars after you’re through. … Read More

Film

The Strangest Source Material in Movie History

By Jason Bailey on

Anyone questioning the dearth of original ideas in modern-day Hollywood might want to take a look at this week’s new releases, which include Battleship, a film based on a board game, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting, a film based on a pregnancy guide. Yes, friends, the movie industry in 2012 is all about brand recognition, so when they run out of sequels and remakes and reboots and adaptation of comic books and TV series and novels, they’re going to have to really start stretching. Not by trying new ideas or telling untold stories (don’t be silly), but by merely adapting things into movies that really have no business being adapted into movies. After the jump, a brief survey of some of the strangest source material in movie history. … Read More

Pop Culture

The Car from Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘Otis’ Video to be Put Up for Auction

By Emily Temple on

In the much-acclaimed, Spike Jonze-directed music video for their hit track “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West cruise around in a tricked-out, deconstructed Maybach with no doors or roof, doing donuts in the dusty industrial park. According to the narrative of the video, which opens with the pair carrying power tools towards the brand new vehicle, the… Read More

Pop Culture

Eat This: Sonic Youth, the Beastie Boys Teach ‘Sassy’ Magazine to Make Their Favorite Recipes

By Emily Temple on

We recently stumbled over this great blast from the past over at Good Food Stories: a collection of “Eat This” columns from the now-defunct but definitely life-changing Sassy Magazine, in which staffers and celebrities taught readers how to make their favorite dishes. Evan Dando of the Lemonheads shares the ingredients of his special “Morning Noonan Night Sauce,” while a wildly young-looking Sonic Youth suggests putting butter on your tuna tacos, and Spike Jonze and Beastie Boy drummer Mike D. spend five hours making a carrot cake. There are suggestions from non-celebrities too, all worth a look for that trademark Sassy attitude so rare in print publications these days. Click through for a little culinary inspiration from the early ’90s, and head on over to Good Food Stories for bigger images and even more recipes! … Read More

Film

The 30 Harshest Filmmaker-on-Filmmaker Insults in History

By Jason Bailey on

[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published August 10, 2011.] Earlier this summer, a shocking number of our readers flocked to read (and amend) our list of the harshest author-on-author insults in history. But you know who is even more childish, trifling, vindictive, and nasty than your favorite scribes? Your favorite filmmakers. These directors may not have quite the same precision with the written word as those rancorous authors, but when it comes to pettiness, they can’t be beat. After the jump, we’ll run down 30 of our favorite slights, slanders, and cheap shots from filmmakers both classic and contemporary; we’d love to hear yours in the comments. … Read More

Film

The 10 Coolest Stop-Motion Shorts We’ve Ever Seen

By Nicole Rallis on

Casting a spell of still shots, handcrafted characters, and homemade settings, stop-motion animation has been dazzling viewers since its first appearance in the late 1800s. It requires a grueling process that, when executed perfectly, creates the illusion of seamless movement. And often, the months and even years that filmmakers filter into their stop-motion endeavors prove to be worth the effort, producing jaw-dropping works of meticulous art. Here at Flavorpill, we see a ton of stop-motion shorts. Our ten favorites are after the jump; link us to yours in the comments. … Read More

Television

Artistic Television: 10 Directors’ Commercials for the Small Screen

By Alison Nastasi on

Darren Aronofsky’s unsettling crystal meth PSAs made the rounds earlier this week. The Black Swan director worked with the Meth Project Foundation to trouble us with visions of intense drug addiction, and boy did it work. Aronofsky isn’t the only gifted filmmaker who has dabbled with short-form film and the telly advertising world, however. Many auteur moviemakers found their start on TV, creating some of the most memorable works that have ever been brought to prime time. Others just enjoy creating little bites of film-esque entertainment as a break from the Hollywood machine. Whatever the reasons, the condensed screen time provides a fascinating snapshot of each director’s overall style. Click past the break for a look at ten directors who made creative commercials for the small screen. … Read More

Film

Watch Spike Jonze’s New Stop Motion Animation with Designer Olympia Le-Tan

By Alison Nastasi on

Director Spike Jonze has collaborated on film projects with everyone from The Beastie Boys to Jay-Z and Kanye West (their video “Otis”), but he’s teaming up with a fashion maven this time — handbag designer Olympia Le-Tan. They’re currently working on a fantastic stop-motion animation, Mourir Aupres de Toi (To Die By Your Side), which uses all the typical low-fi materials Jonze loves — this time felt. The video is set in Paris’ iconic bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, the famous hangout location for literati like James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein. The Where the Wild Things Are filmmaker admired Le-Tan’s work and asked her to create a Catcher in the Rye embroidery for him, which the style guru agreed to do — but only if Jonze would make a video for her in return. The duo is using pieces of book covers to animate a love story. Check out the film and a previously released behind-the-scenes peek past the break. … Read More