question of the day: What is your favorite biopic?
The first one that springs to mind for me is Out of Africa, because it’s a gorgeous movie, and because it’s about a woman, which so few biopics are.
Steven Spielberg
question of the day: Who is the “great American filmmaker”?
Steven Spielberg might be my choice…
am I the only one not in love with Not-Inspector Spacetime? (and other adventures in social networking)
Links my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today…
Airplane is the funniest movie ever (and other adventures in social networking)
Links my followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ saw today…
question of the day: What makes a movie “modern”?
Is it the use of CGI? Is it blockbusterness (or bucking blockbusterness in the age of blockbusters)? Is it just about being produced after a certain date, and if so, when did the “modern” era of film begin?
question of the day: What great thinkers — writers, philosophers, scientists — whom Hollywood generally ignores should inspire more films?
Ray Bradbury, who died yesterday at age 91, inspired, both directly and indirectly, generations of filmmakers. Stephen Hawking’s ideas inform both Battleship and Prometheus this summer. What other thinkers should storytellers be looking to for inspiration?
question of the day: Are classic pulp novels too dated to make faithful transfers to the big screen?
John Carter doesn’t work, but with some updating and shifts in emphasis, the Victorian Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds have made recent — and very successful — transfers to the big screen. Has entertainment moved on too much for popcorn crowds to care about classic pulp presented classically?
The Artist will have a good night (and other Oscar predictions)
Here’s an at-a-glance look at my picks for tomorrow night’s Academy Awards…
question of the day: How much should the federal government censor American broadcast television?
Is it a moot point, since broadcast TV is clearly on its way out, or at least on its way to being much less culturally influential?
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…
