Trekmas in July: Cons and Paratexts

Okay, so there is only fifteen minutes left until August as I post this . . . pardon my indulgence of this post.

So today I outed myself as a Trekker/ Trekkie/ Trekster (call me whatever) in class.  I had to share just a bit more of my passion for Star Trek.  During the break and hallway conversation, we talked a bit about cons.  I've been to the Nashville Star Trek con for the past two years with my husband to celebrate our anniversary each summer.  Last year was great with George Takei and Nichelle Nichols.

Lavar Burton was also in attendance, and he led the audience in a sing-along to the Reading Rainbow theme.  I got to speak with him about the new Reading Rainbow app when I got his autograph.  Both my husband and I found it weird and a bit unsettling that one of the head shot glossies that were being offered for sale for his signature was one of Burton in chains in the role of Kunta Kinte from Roots.  Did they realize that they were in the South?

While many folks celebrate Festivus in December, my husband and I celebrate Trekmas each year. We gather with our Trek friends to sing Klingon carols around the Trekmas tree, play Star Trek Settlers of Catan, and drink homemade blood wine with cake.  

GREAT Podcast: Filmspotting

I once heard a comedian's definition of middle age: All of a motorist's radio dial pre-sets programmed to talk radio stations. I don't know if that is true, but I know that I prefer the sound of chatter to tunes while driving, so you do the math.

Lately I have been listening to podcasts that cover interesting content. One terrific find has been the Filmspotting podcast (available also as an app for iPhone and Android) and the Filmspotting.net website. The two hosts are Adam Kempenaar (who hails from the same small Iowa town as I do) and Josh Henson, a former film critic at a Chicago newspaper. The banter is smart. The breadth of their film knowledge is impressive.  I really like the inclusion of lists (top 20 movies of the decade; best five films for 2013 thus far; top five movie robots, etc.). One recent episode found the hosts discussing the top five Christ figures, including the robot in the Iron Giant and the character Babette in Babette's Feast.

The best thing about this podcast is that I can hook my phone up to a media cable in my car and listen to it while driving to/from this class.... Voila! More talk radio!

Enjoy! http://www.filmspotting.net/

nterview: Paul Schrader on 'The Canyons' and Dying Film Culture

Read it here.

Money quote:

Tribeca: What are your personal thoughts on the reason the communal aspect of filmgoing is fading? 

PS: Well, films were never communal just because people wanted a communal experience - it just happened to be the economic model that made the most sense. You could sell a lot of tickets and show the film at the same time to everyone. On a nickelodeon, of course, which predated movie theaters, only one person could watch the movie at a time. Nobody said, we want to sit in a hot room together! That's just how it was. But it doesn't have to be that way anymore. You know, this myth that people will always want to go out to the movies, they'll always want a communal experience - I don't know that that's necessarily true. If you want to watch the next episode of Mad Men, would you really prefer to watch it in a theater? I don't think so. 

All I can say is, it's about time.--Margaret

From Huffington Post

Cheryl Boone Isaacs Elected The First African-American President Of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences

Posted: 07/30/2013 11:01 pm EDT  |  Updated: 07/30/2013 11:01 pm EDT

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the group which awards the Oscars each year, has elected its first African-American president.

Cheryl Boone Isaacs was elected by the board of governors to lead the Academy on Tuesday night, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Boone Isaacs, a veteran marketing executive who currently heads CBI Enterprises, is only the third woman to lead the 86-year-old Academy. The first two female presidents were actress Bette Davis and screenwriter Fay Kanin.

Boone Isaacs has previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema and executive vice president of worldwide publicity at Paramount Pictures. Earlier this year, she produced the 4th annual Governors Awards for the Academy.

Boone Isaacs will replace Hawk Koch, a producer who left the board because of term limits. According to Entertainment Weekly, one of her first jobs will be to select a host for the March 2 Oscar telecast.

The Academy has traditionally been overwhelmingly white and male. A study by the Los Angeles Times in 2012 found that Oscar voters were nearly 94 percent Caucasian and 77 percent male. In the past year, the organization has been expanding to include more women and film professionals from various backgrounds. Current membership now stands at 6,000.

Signs of Culture Convergence

1980 Star Warsaction figure commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXHzQlJbnXI

Supes vs. Hulk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDBNB2hk5t0

Haloid- Samus Aran vs. Master Chief

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL-mR79GErU

E.T. sequel trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMW3W-G43gI

G.I. Joe PSA spoof (Even though knowing is half the battle, nothing will prepare you for this. Imagine if David Lynch made cartoons.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt_KfBaRWxs

1979 commercial for Alienaction figure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKSv85mJEmY

Robot Chickenspoof of Star Wars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F1d3QWsyk0

Binge Watching: Top of the Lake

In my third binge viewing event of this summer, I just finished watching the seven-episode mini-series Top of the Lake on Sundance channel.  Again, I couldn't stop watching, watching all of the series within fifteen hours.  Sometimes we all need food and sleep.  Like Orange is the New Black, viewing Top is like reading a great page-turner.

I have loved Elisabeth Moss on Mad Men from the start of the series, and I love her even more in this role as Detective Robin Griffin.  She's smart, serious, and tough in this role.  I'd like to see her win the Emmy she deserves.

The tension and suspense were also great, but what really struck me is the haunting beauty of New Zealand, the setting for the film, with the use of striking music.  The landscape and  evocative music was reminiscent of  Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), set in Australia.  A movie that haunted me equally when I first saw it years ago.

Top of the Lake and Picnic at Hanging Rock share some of the same subject matter and themes.  Both deal with communities that have seem serene and peaceful externally but that are filled with black secrets and a darkness of humanity that eats its own young.  Nature and landscape serve as a space of retreat, freedom, self-exile, but also danger.  

David Bianculli Reviews Dobie Gillis, China Beach, Dirk Gently, and The Jack Benny Show: The Lost Episodes.  From Fresh Air with Terry Gross on NPR.org (July 29, 2013)

http://www.npr.org/2013/07/29/205534430/this-summer-vintage-tv-shows-thrive-on-dvd

You can copy/paste the URL above to hear David Bianculli's review of the following four boxed DVD sets.  Bianculli LOVES them!!--Margaret

"A great one, for starters, is a 21-disc Shout! Factory set called The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: The Complete Series."

"The Time Life set of China Beach: The Complete Series holds up well, too. This series, on ABC from 1988 to 1992, was a drama about an Army hospital and recreation and rehab center in Vietnam."

"On the much lighter side is Acorn Media's Dirk Gently, a four-episode BBC comedy series from 2010 and 2012. It stars Stephen Mangan, of the delightful Showtime series Episodes, and it's based on the metaphysical mystery novels by Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy stories, so I don't have to say much more about that one."

"Last, but to me certainly not least, is Shout! Factory's The Jack Benny Program: The Lost Episodes. These are episodes that, partly because they originally were preserved on kinescope rather than film, were not included in standard home video and TV syndication packages, so most of them haven't been available in more than 50 years. And for older TV viewers especially, these are a blast to watch precisely because theyare so unfamiliar." 

Sundance Channel's Writers' Room Spotlights TV Writers

Sundance premiers The Writers' Room tonight, and episode videos are also available for free viewing online.  The show's teaser claims they will "get real with the most innovative voices in TV today" speaking directly with writers from Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, New Girl, Dexter, and Parks and Recreation.  Episode one includes writers from Breaking Bad and is already available for online viewing.

"I Want to Go to There"

I don't know if our family is different from the average, but we incessantly quote memorable lines from television or movies when the circumstances call for them.

For example, when someone shushes anyone in public, the correct response is: "A hotdog is singing. You want me to be quiet when a hotdog is singing?" (Greg Kinnear as Frank in You've Got Mail.)

If you have to sign an important document and you feel hesitant, someone always quips: "A man in a really nice camper is offering to put our song on the radio. I'm signin', you're signin', we're all signin'!" (Steve Zahn as Lenny on That Thing You Do)

When a reversal of a positive situation occurs ("Good feeling gone"--Marlin on Finding Nemo) or a relationship sours ("Camp over now"--Julius on Remember the Titans), the perfect retort has likely already been spoken onscreen.

While many of our family's favorite lines originated on the silver screen, television seems to offer fewer quotable lines but some programs are more reliable--30Rock and Gilmore Girls being two of our favorite repositories: (e.g. Kenneth on the couch with Jack as his analyst: "I ate my father pig!" or Lorelai: "I've always wanted to hold a huge quadraped over my head" while watching the movie Pippi Longstocking).

Which medium offers up the best one-liners, in your opinion?

Showrunners

It looks like there will soon be a documentary on showrunners. Here's the link to the article: http://www.whedonopolis.com/showrunners-documentary-gets-distributor/

For Dr. Lavery

Found a moving tribute to one of the greats.

'Nicholas Cage Losing His Shit'

50 Alternate Movie Endings

I found this online and thought it would be a nice addition to our discussion from Thursday night.

I have to admit, I prefer the alternate Pretty in Pink ending. Maybe they'll film that version when the inevitable remake comes out in 30 years?

50 Movie Endings You've Never Seen

"Blockbusters struggle to sustain fanbase amid 'summer of doom'"

Read this Guardian (UK) story here.

Operning Sequence of "The Manchurian Candidate"

"McCabe and Mrs. Miller" Opening Credits

Plot Twists and Foreshadowing

One way TV and movies differ must be our attentiveness as viewers to what we perceive may be salient details about how the plot conflicts will resolve.

In LOST, for instance, I was ready to call the island purgatory by the end of season three, but then new characters and situations (time/space travel, etc.)  kept appearing at breakneck speed. I missed all of the indications Chief Webber is an alcoholic on Grey's Anatomy, requiring the flashback sequence to put it together for me.

In a movie, on the other hand, I feel more alert to figure out what is coming by the clues given. Of course, in the case of the spinning ring and Bruce Willis's realization he is the dead person Haley Joel Osment sees in The Sixth Sense, I got it all wrong. My wife, however, had caught on but mercifully stayed silent until I erupted, "NO WAY!"

Last night's Redbox-of-choice was Homeland. The director beat us over the head with small horses as a motif (no spoiler: a red herring). The other plot twist became much more obvious to me in the scene that shows in the trailer of all places: Jon Krazinski's lighting a Hollywood-built Fisher Price-esque model farm in front of a class of fourth graders. Really?!  That moment had me on alert for the way the movie turned out, although I still was somewhat surprised.

Perhaps, again, the long trajectory of a show's writing allows for the sprinkling of a bread crumb trail of clues that we, like Hansel and Gretel, pick up over weeks and months, instead of minutes.  As well, the work of multiple writers in collaboration may result in the foreshadowing being more illusive.

I realize these are generalizations, but I think herein lies a fundamental difference. What say y'all?

Heroines of Cinema: The 10 Most Exciting Young Female Directors in the World Today

Read it on Indiewire. [Sara Polley on the right.)

'The People vs. George Lucas'

Here's a fun documentary that covers what we talked about in class in a lot more detail. Pretty relevant for the fan-scholar/scholar-fan issue, too.

I believe it's still streaming on Netflix.

A Counterargument via Willa Paskin

I cannot tell you how delighted I was to find an email reply from Willa Paskin in my inbox this afternoon.  I was beginning to worry that she may not actually reply a second time to my interview questions, especially in time for me to include them in my first paper that I am furiously writing, or that I may have dreamed my initial email exchange with her. 

While I don't want to give away her entire response, I did ask her to comment on our class theme of "Why TV is Better Than Movies." She directed me to the following article "Stop Saying That TV is Better Than the Movies" published just last week in Slate by David Haglund, editor of Slate's Culture Blog Browbeat.

What are you thoughts about Haglund's position and the counterclaim?

---

photo credit: http://www.salon.com/2012/12/21/top_10_tv_of_2012_%E2%80%94_and_a_preview/

"Midnight Movies"

I am watching a wonderful documentary on Starz, Midnight Movies--a study of such exploitation films as El Topo, Night of the Living Dead, Pink Flamingos, Rocky Horror, and Eraserhead.

Definitely worth a look. It's also available for only $1.95 on Amazon.

Getting Red(boxed) in the Face!

By now, certainly you have discovered along with me that rental DVDs are a species unto themselves. Instead of coming with all the delicious DVD extras that we nerds (ahem! "cinephiles") appreciate most, they arrive to us in those characteristic red plastic cases sans bonus content.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE PART OF MANY MOVIES!

Consumerist reports on the practice in a blog dated December 9, 2010, by Chris Morran:

"In an apparent effort to give customers a reason to buy DVDs instead of renting them, movie studios have begun disabling certain features of new releases on discs rented out by Blockbuster and Netflix."

The collusion by movie studios to ban DVD extras in order to force us to buy the boxed sets is a shame. Granted, as a consumer I get more "bang for my buck" :-) when I purchase a DVD with the extras included.

What this means, I am sure, is fewer people will be exposed to the rich content on DVDs since it is far easier to simply grab the movie at Kroger or watch it streaming on Netflix.

I just have one question after reading the three-year-old blog quote above: What is Blockbuster?

The Man of Steel review

I hope this link works. You'll be able to read through all the fun venomous quotes from some of the critics now. Man of Steel Prezi

David Lynch's Return of the Jedi

Since we were talking about David Lynch yesterday, it got me thinking about what his vision for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi might have been. Apparently he was on a short list to direct the third installment of the Star Wars trilogy (before it ultimately went to Richard Marquand) and had even spoken to George Lucas regarding the project. I wonder what kind of film we would've gotten with Lynch at the helm? Would we have seen a movie injected with dream-like Lynchian motifs like bacta tank-induced hallucinations involving anthropomorphic lightsabers or dancing taun-tauns? However, I think the dream sequence in the previous film (the cave duel between Luke and Darth Vader) would've been more up Lynch's dark alley. I guess we could only speculate what might have been. Considering this would have occurred around the same time frame as Lynch's Dune, I'm kind of relieved Jedi didn't end up being the mess that film was. Anyway, here is a YouTube clip featuring Lynch's recollections about Return of the Jedi and meeting with Lucas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJQ4vCu-S0U

NPR Onpoint and the "Showrunners

10:00 hour of OnPoint has a bit on Brett Martin and his book on the "show runners" of current TV. With our current theme/meme of TV vs movies, I find the fist comment funny: "Shoot your television. Read a book. Just saying ..." Some people will never give up.

Smart Characters, Smart SF

Dan, you brought up a great point about Prometheus that I think big-budget SF filmmakers often overlook these days – that it’s a little odd to see characters who seem like they ought to be pretty intelligent do really stupid things. For instance, those two scientists who freak out, leave the group (some of whose members are military, if I remember correctly), and suddenly decide to treat the gooey alien spacecraft as their own personal petting zoo: when the actions of these two buffoons require a greater suspension of disbelief than the muscle-bound albinos creating life on earth, you know there’s a problem.

In a panel on “Science Fiction as a Literary Genre,” SF author Neal Stephenson argues that one of the defining characteristics of SF – as opposed to something like horror – is that the characters on the screen will often anticipate and mirror the thoughts of the audience:

“Consider how Ripley, the character played by Sigourney Weaver, responds to the threat posed by the aliens.  In the second film, once she and the marines she is with have made first contact with the aliens and had a chance to catch their breath, they very quickly agree that they should simply go back to the orbiting ship and nuke the place.  It is a brilliant move on the part of the film makers, precisely because it is the obvious and intelligent thing to do.  It is exactly what we in the audience are all thinking to ourselves, but because it is a kind of horror movie and we have been conditioned to expect stupid behaviour from characters in horror movies, it is the last thing we are expecting.  When the idea is raised and agreed on, we wake up, sit a little straighter in our chairs, and say, 'Oh, this is a movie about real people,' which is to say people who behave intelligently, and for the rest of the film, that promise is largely borne out as Ripley goes on to do a number of more or less intelligent things…”

It could be argued that this doesn’t apply to Prometheus because it’s more horror than science fiction, but when more than half of the characters have Ph.D.’s in geology, archeology, biology, etc., the movie’s gotta at least be considered scientist fiction. And sure, Ph.D. doesn’t = common sense. But it strongly implies an ability to think through problems and predict consequences.

So yeah, here’s hoping James Cameron comes along and makes Prometheuses. 

Some viewing for the All Star break

TV critic Andy Greenwald of Grantland claims that TV is currently in the middle of its All Star break (the time between the end of Mad Men and the start of Breaking Bad.) As such, he suggested some streaming binge viewing treats to tide us over. Here's the link for some watching fun.... because we all have so much free time
http://www.grantland.com/contributor/_/name/andy-greenwald

Franchise fails: The planned sequels we’ll likely never see

Read it (Salon) here.

Follow the Television Critics Association Press Tour

Linda Holmes, the blogger on NPR's "Monkey See" popular culture forum, posted today that she is headed to a 16-day preview of the fall television schedule and the next six months. If you are interested in following the goings-on (and you are on Twitter), follow the hashtag: #tcas13 for the Television Critics Association summer 2013. Also, you can keep up with her blog at http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/

Orson Welles + Wine

After our discussion about Citizen Kane and Orson Welles' more unsavory habits, I was shocked how many people had not seen Orson Welles Drunk outtakes. Enjoy.

Scene from Cuaron's 'Gravity'

This was shown last week at Comic-Con. Bazin would be proud.

And I'm glad to see how Cuaron's handling sound in space - something Whedon did well :)

I'm pleased that Mr. Selfridge will be returning to Masterpiece  Classic.  I've watched Masterpiece since it began (yes, I am that old), and it consistently provides viewers with a fine variety of British and American programs, with only an occasional "stinker."  For Season 2, Mr. Selfridge will focus on World War I, a not-surprising turn for a BBC production.  

Even though the war ended nearly 100 years ago, it remains fresh within the British psyche, and writers, producers, and directors still do not seem loathe to delve into the subject, despite myriad movie and television treatments.  Downton Abbey spent only a few episodes on WWI, yet those episodes showed just a touch of the horror of the trenches.  However, the most brilliant treatment of WWI on British television occurred in one full season and part of the following season in Upstairs Downstairs (1971-77), and nary a trench was seen by viewers.  The entire war was handled within the confines of the Bellamy home (and a few other inside locations) and through dialogue and costumes.  There was no need to actually show trench warfare back in those days; the directors/writers/producers/et al trusted viewers to know the horrendous conditions of WWI warfare.  

It will be interesting to see how the war is presented to viewers in Mr. Selfridge.  I can't wait!

JULY 22, 2013, 1:38 PM

‘Mr. Selfridge’ to Return for Second Season on PBS

By FELICIA R. LEE

Anglophiles rejoice. “Mr.  Selfridge,”  on PBS’s “Masterpiece Classic,” will be back for a second season in 2014, Masterpiece and PBS announced on Monday. Starring Jeremy Piven as Harry Gordon Selfridge, the American founder of Selfridges department store in London, the first season of the eight-episode series reached nearly 15 million viewers.

The show marked Mr.  Piven’s return to TV after his Emmy and Golden Globe wins for his performance as Ari Gold, a temperamental superagent in the hit HBO comedy series “Entourage.” The second season of “Mr. Selfridge” picks up the story in 1914, as the department store celebrates its fifth business anniversary as World War I looms.

“I’m absolutely delighted that Masterpiece viewers welcomed ‘Mr. Selfridge’ into their homes,” Mr. Piven said in a statement. “’Mr. Selfridge’ is a true ensemble piece, and audiences can look forward to seeing the return of their favorite characters and some intriguing new faces.”

The returning cast includes Frances O’Connor as Mr. Selfridge’s wife, Rose, Aisling Loftus as Agnes Towler, Katherine Kelly as Lady Mae, Grégory Fitoussi as Henri Leclair, Trystan Gravelle as Victor Colleano, Amanda Abbington as Miss Mardle, Tom Goodman-Hill as Roger Grove and Ron Cook as Mr. Crabb.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

I am a sucker for holiday movies. It's A Wonderful Life has always been one of my all-time favorites of any genre. I have been known to pop the DVD in during the summer if I need to be reminded that there may still be good left in humanity.

Next to it, my family watches White Christmas multiple times between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. I even like rarer holiday films like Christmas in Connecticut (Godfrey, 1945) with Barbara Stanwyck.

I don't even mind when a syndicated TV show plays a Christmas-related episode in the middle of summer replete with oppressive Tennessee heat and humidity.

That's why I am baffled at my dislike for the nods to Christmas in Iron Man 3. As I sat in the theater, I kept feeling like the Christmas trees, the lights, and the giant stuffed bunny Tony gives Pepper were equivalent to too many product placements (i.e. obvious, bordering on patronizing).

I kept thinking while watching it that the film was trying to resonate with holiday moviegoers, even though the premiere was held on April 24. Was this a case when the studio's schedule and budget ran away from the producers?

So, imagine my surprise to stumble on Forrest Wickman's blog entry on Salon.com entitled "The Dickensian Aspect of Iron Man 3."  Here is the opening paragraph if you're interested:

Of all the odd things about this year’s first big summer blockbuster, Iron Man 3, perhaps the oddest is that it takes place during Christmas. Though it’s being released in May, it’s filled with Christmas lights, Christmas gifts, snow storms (including one in Tennessee), and grenades improvised from Christmas ornaments.

The article is really fascinating, especially the use of the phrase "sci-fi Capra." Suddenly suitless Tony wandering around like a pseudo-George Bailey begs another glance.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/05/03/how_iron_man_3_draws_from_charles_dickens_a_christmas_carol.html

Binge Watching: Orange is the New Black

 

After hearing the news of Netflix’s Emmy nominations last week and some chatter around Netflix’s new series Orange is the New Black (2013 - ),  I thought I would check out the series for myself this past weekend.   While the first couple of episodes, “I Wasn’t Ready “ and “Tit Punch” started off slowly, by episode three, “Lesbian Request Denied,”  I was hooked.  Like a page-turner book, I couldn’t stop watching it.

The series is based on Piper Kerman's 2010 memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison.  It certainly can be added to the abundance of TV shows conquering new territory with a cast of its own anti-heroines.  This white-girl gone bad story is a fascinating examination of the transgressive behaviors that occur in a women's prison.  What kept me watching were the compelling stories of each of the main characters, explaining how each inmate has come to reside in Leitchfield's women's prison.  We come to understand each of these women as "normal" people who have come from bad circumstances and how and why they have made the really bad decisions that have altered the rest of their lives.

The well-drawn characters and the actors who portray them are what makes the series compelling.  My favorites include Alex Vause (Laura Prepon, formerly of That 70s Show) as the former drug-runner and ex-girlfriend of Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), Red (Kate Mulgrew, formerly Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager) as the fierce Russian cook, and Pennsatucky (portrayed by Taryn Miller who is a dead-ringer for Lindsey Lohan) as the born-again, psychotic Christian who anoints herself the prison evangelist.  The supporting characters are also good.  While it would be easy to take cheap shots at the characters, turning them into two-dimensional props once seen in bad women's prison movies that would have run on Cinemax late at night, Orange is the New Black makes viewers sympathize with these women and helps us to understand the coded, corrupt society in which they live.  At the same time, there is humor and truth in the narratives.  Like all good series, the final episode "Cant'  Fix Crazy" was gut-wrenching to watch and explains why Netflix has already renewed it for a second season.