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Film

Making Movies With Statistics Isn’t Just Artistic Suicide — It Won’t Work

By Jason Bailey on

Sunday’s New York Times included a story that movie fans should find as terrifying as anything since the last 20 minutes of Silence of the Lambs. In it, writer Brooks Barnes introduces us to Vinny Bruzzese, a “chain-smoking former statistics professor” who has “started to aggressively pitch a service he calls script evaluation. For as much as $20,000 per script, Mr. Bruzzese and a team of analysts compare the story structure and genre of a draft script with those of released movies, looking for clues to box-office success. His company, Worldwide Motion Picture Group, also digs into an extensive database of focus group results for similar films and surveys 1,500 potential moviegoers.” In other words, studios write Bruzzese and his company a check, and in exchange, they’re told how to make their movies as bland, homogenous, and predictable as possible. Sounds like the recipe for a golden age of moviemaking! … Read More

Pop Culture

Cool Quote Art Pays Tribute to ‘Firefly,’ ‘Lebowski,’ ‘Princess Bride,’ And More

By Jason Bailey on

The only way to attract more Internet attention than paying tribute to The Princess Bride is by paying tribute to The Big Lebowski, and the only way to get more Internet attention than that is by paying tribute to Firefly, so you’ve gotta hand it to Austin-based artist Chet Phillips for putting his finger on the virtual pulse with this series of clever quote-and-cartoon prints (with an emphasis on the Brothers Coen). Check out the entire series after the jump, and pick up copies for yourself at his Etsy store. … Read More

Film

The Best Insults in Film

By Jason Bailey on

Recently, Flavorwire rounded up some of our very favorite punchlines from our favorite funny movies — which was a bit of a job in itself, since there are so many great lines, and they’re funny in so many different ways. But perhaps the most reliable way to get a laugh is one of the oldest: a great insult. The best can come from anywhere (even a serious drama), prompting not only a quick, dirty, slightly guilty laugh, but also the jotting down of a particularly effective slam in one’s mental notebook. Click through for 25 of the cruelest, funniest, and most effective cinematic… Read More

Film

10 Cult Classics The Critics Got Dead Wrong

By Jason Bailey on

Alex Cox’s odd, cool, darkly comic, and frankly brilliant Repo Man hits Blu-ray this week via the cinematic angels over at the Criterion Collection. It’s always a blast to see a movie as subversive and fun as this one getting its respect as a classic, but it’s worth noting that many of our favorite cult movies were less than beloved at the time of their release. Don’t believe us? Click through to see what some of the less enlightened critics had to say, back in the day, about Repo Man and nine more cult… Read More

Film

Movie Couples We Want to See Reunited

By Alison Nastasi on

Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey have hugged out their differences and will appear at a Wayne’s World panel on April 23 at the Academy’s Wilshire Boulevard headquarters. Excellent! The drama between the SNL buddies started during Meyers’ Austin Powers days. Carvey became cross after he believed Meyers stole an impersonation he’d done of Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. Meyers apparently used it to create his Dr. Evil character.

Wayne and Garth will party onward, and the news inspired thoughts of other famous movie couples we’d love to see together again. Sometimes, chemistry between actors just can’t be replicated with anyone else. Here are several film pairings we want more of — some as their original characters, and several as actors reunited in different roles. This is one of those endless wish lists, so we’ve left plenty of room for you to add your picks, below. … Read More

Film

The Best Punchlines in Film

By Jason Bailey on

A couple of weeks back, we perused the entirety of film history and pulled out our very favorite break-up lines — the meanest, the sharpest, and the funniest. For a follow-up, we decided to focus on the latter: selecting some of the best punchlines ever uttered in movies. By definition, a punchline isn’t just a funny bit of dialogue or an amusingly awkward moment: it’s the payoff to a setup, whether in situation or dialogue, and thus must be carefully teed up and smoothly executed. We think these 25 examples do just that, with panache. … Read More

Art

Killer Italian Artwork Inspired by Great American Movies

By Jason Bailey on

Italian illustrator and cartoonist Massimo Carnevale has been capturing attention on film blogs all over the world for his beautiful and inventive artwork inspired by scenes from American movies; he makes striking use of color and repurposed iconography, creating works that are both recognizably his and true to the spirit of the films that inspired them. After the jump, join us for a quick stroll past some of our favorites by this prolific artist. … Read More

Film

How to Dress Like Your Favorite Film Characters

By Alison Nastasi on

The Big Lebowski‘s beloved Dude has been immortalized in the hearts of moviegoers. In the stoner caper, we learn that the Dude cares deeply about White Russians, his rug, and his robe — but many fans fixate on his cozy Cowichan sweater (which was created with four pounds of yarn!). Since the original sweater was auctioned off for thousands of dollars, we’re grateful for companies like 80sTees who have created an exclusive replica for only $200.

Contemporary clothing in film is often ignored for the flashier costumes and fantasy outfits, but it’s the everyday clothes that have the biggest effect on people — embodying the spirit of the characters and film. We can relate to a t-shirt or sweater easier than we can to an 18th-century ball gown. If you’ve been dying to dress like your favorite film characters, we’ve rounded up a collection of clothes (and a few accessories) you can purchase that are the real deal. These aren’t Halloween costumes, and you won’t feel like a walking LARP disaster while wearing them. Abide by our film fashion guide after the jump. … Read More

Film

Gift Guide: The Best Gifts for Movie Geeks

By Jason Bailey on

Happy Black Friday! Yes, yes, we know, we’re just encouraging that capitalist pigs and so on by participating, etc., but still — might as well get started on your Christmas shopping, right? And we’re here to help, particularly if you’ve got a movie geek to buy for (and we know how hard we can be to buy for). Thus, we’ve plucked out the ten gifts (with links!) most likely to please the film fan on your list, which they’ll drool thankfully over before making up an excuse to duck out of the holiday festivities and catch the first showing of Django Unchained. Check them out after the jump, and add your own gift ideas in the comments. … Read More

Film

10 Proposed Movie Sequels That We Do. Not. Want.

By Jason Bailey on

From Warner Brothers’ latest attempt to revive Casablanca to Searching for Keyser Soze, here’s a look at some of Hollywood’s worst sequel ideas for its greatest… Read More