When we first saw clips of Parker Posey’s stab at sitcom stardom, the long-delayed FOX offering The Return of Jezebel James, we were skeptical that the sometime high school hazer and incestuous Jackie O impersonator would be able to make the transition to laugh track anchor without diluting her own charms, or worse, becoming really, really annoying. Based on the first two episodes, which are already available for watching and embedding via Hulu (see the pilot above), both of our fears were valid––Posey’s total inability to grasp sitcom comic timing is a big problem, and her flailing attempts to do so strip her of all likeability. It’s such a sad thing to see such a strong actress in a debacle like this, especially just one year after making a really good film which, in a fair and just world, would have sat at the top of her resume until she could get cast in something even better.
But there are sadder things about Jezebel James to discuss…
I’m sure a press release will be forthcoming, and when I get it I’ll post it, but here’s what I deem to be the exciting news from this morning’s Independent Spirit Awards announcement, most of which involve friends and/or pet projects of Spout:
Aaron Katz’s Quiet Cityis nominated for the John Cassavetes Award for the best feature made for $500,000. Also nominated in that category: Shotgun Stories and The Pool, two films I’ve heard great things about but have yet to see.
The Monastery, which was disqualified for Oscar consideration after it was broadcast against the filmmaker’s wishes on European television, got a Spirit nomination for Best Documentary.
Ronnie Bronstein (director of Frownland and star of Joe Swanberg’s upcoming Spout web series Butterknife) and Ramin Bahrani (director of Man Push Cart and Chop Shop) have both been nominated for the IFC/Acura Someone to Watch Award, which comes with a grant worth (I think) $20,000.
Craig Zobel and Julie Delpy were nominated for Best First Film, for Great World of Sound and 2 Days in Paris, respectively. Sound’s Kene Holliday was also nominated for Best Supporting Male.
Broken English, a film which was dismissed by many but which I really enjoyed, earned nominations for Best Actress (Parker Posey) and Best First Screenplay (Zoe Cassavetes).
Otherwise, the usual suspects are all there: lots of I’m Not There,Diving Bell, A Mighty Heart and Juno. More later.
UPDATE: See the full list of nominees after the jump. Surprises, omissions, excitements? Comment, please.
It’s not quite 8:00 AM, but I have a candidate for Quote of the Day. From Michael Atkinson’s review of Broken English, newly released on DVD, at IFC News:
Posey-triumph and single-chick indie miracle that it is, Broken English may also be the most eloquent portrait of its subject demographic ever made, despite changing two-thirds of the way through into a slightly ditzy French-movie version of itself and robbing a little, in the end, from Linklater’s Before Sunset. While Sex in the City reruns are merely the idiot’s guide to lonely-girl anesthetization, Cassavetes’s feature-film debut is the true gem.
Whatever you think of Zoe Cassavetes’ film, it’s definitely had an interesting media life. Largely overlooked at Sundance, generally shrugged-over in its theatrical release, reclaimed late in the game by a handful of bloggers (including me) and now, finally, earning glowing reviews at the end of its media cycle. If theatrical distribution is now essentially a commercial for home entertainment sales (and I’m fairly sure Magnolia, English’s distributor, believes it is), than this is perhaps the best reception a film could ask for: the longer Broken English sits in the culture, the more positive attention it attracts. It’s a “sleeper” on a long-tail timeline.
We’ve had a bit of trouble getting this episode to go through the iTunes feed, so we hope this re-post will fix the problem. The original post, with episode description and embedded player, is here.
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I’m sure a press release will be forthcoming, and when I get it I’ll post it, but here’s what I deem to be the exciting news from this morning’s Independent Spirit Awards announcement, most of which involve friends and/or pet projects of Spout:
It’s not quite 8:00 AM, but I have a candidate for Quote of the Day. From Michael Atkinson’s review of 
