question of the day: What great historical figures would you like to see in a story set in the present day?
Prompted by my initial misunderstanding as to why Daniel Day-Lewis was wearing jeans and a sweater to play Abraham Lincoln…
talk amongst yourselves
question of the day: Famous creative types pushing back against corporate greed: hot new trend or momentary pissing into the wind?
Jesse Eisenberg sues a DVD distributor for misleadingly suggesting he’s the star of a film. Elvis Costello tells his fans not to buy a ridiculously overpriced box set. Are these two instances just a coincidence? Or might something bigger be afoot?
question of the day: What makes a movie star a movie star, and has this changed over the Hollywood century?
Dave Beauchene at PopTometry suggests that movie stars should only be movie stars if there can be unanimous agreement on their objectively superior talent. What’s more, this was once true, and has been lost. I couldn’t disagree more.
question of the day: Is it fair to be upset that Jennifer Lopez’s new Fiat ad was not shot in the Bronx?
Advertising works on at least the veneer of truth and plausibility. Is the real issue here that this ad strips away the polite fiction that ads tell the truth?
question of the day: What misleading movies titles bother you the most?
How come there’s no nude consumption of midday meals in Naked Lunch? Were you expecting something soothing and calming from Serenity?
question of the weekend: If you were a Muppet, which one would you be?
There are lots of Muppets personality tests online. They all seem to contradict one another. I doubt their scientific validity…
question of the day: Has there been a person who has powerfully influenced your love of movies or TV?
Salon film critic Matt Zoller Seitz offers a lovely tribute to his wife, who died five years ago, and powerfully influenced his love of movies (and music). It makes me sad to realize that I haven’t had anyone like this in my life…
question of the day: What’s your favorite movie to watch with your family?
If you’re not in the U.S. and hence not celebrating anything, are there occasions on which you might get together with your family for a special favorite classic movie?
question of the day: What piece of clothing from a movie (or TV show) would you actually purchase and wear?
Back in the spring we talked about iconic Hollywood costumes, but this is more about functional clothing that happened to become costume, and the wearing of which lends some mojo — or serves as a sign of fandom.
question of the day: After ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Twilight,’ will we see more movies broken up into multiple installments?
Could Hollywood only get away with such a split when there is an existing and enthusiastic fanbase? Are these splits anything other than moneygrabbing on the studios’ part, a means to get twice the ticket sales out of fans?
