There apparently are other reasons to see Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelonabesides the infamous lesbian kiss between Scarlett Johansson and Penélope Cruz or the threesome between these actresses and Javier Bardem. But as the first things most of us heard about the movie, the sex scenes are certainly a big sell (the ménage à trois is even being used in a promotional contest to win a “threesome” with ScarJo). Even if they’re reportedly underwhelming.
Promise of tantalizing footage has been an appeal for moviegoers likely since the dawn of cinema, with film pioneer Eadweard Muybridge’s The Human Figure in Motion - Descending Stairs and Turning Aroundfeaturing nudity as far back as the 1880s. And if you’ve seen any of the titles included in today’s list, chances are their respective sex scenes were at least part of what made you buy a ticket (or rent the video).
Disney unveiled its through-2012 animation slate this week, with projects including “a sequel to Cars [and] an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story,” and a commitment to releasing nothing but digital 3D.
Blair Witch Project star and Beautiful Losers co-director Joshua Leonard will direct Danny Huston and possibly 50 Cent in Spectacular Regret, a Crash-esque drama about “four Angelenos struggling to overcome past events.”
Chloe Sevigny and Zooey Deschanel will star together in Divorce Ranch, a period indie written and directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and “set in Nevada just after WWII, when a quickie divorce could be granted after residency was established.”
This NME story points to the trailer for Passions Just Like Mine, a documentary about Morrissey fans directed by Kerri Koch. According to the movie’s website, the film focuses on one fan in particular, a working-class Mexican immigrant named Jose who “credits Morrissey with saving his life.”
This makes Passions the second documentary about the Los Angeles-based subculture of Latino Morrissey fans that I’ve heard of in as many years. The first was Is it Really So Strange?, directed by William T. Jones, which I saw at Anthology Film Archives in 2006, at a hipster-packed screening where I sat behind celebrity Smiths fan Chloe Sevigny. What made that film interesting was the ingenious ways in which Jones turned his lack of access into an asset. A photographer-turned filmmaker, Jones structured the film as fan’s photo album of fandom. His only meeting with Morrissey was almost accidental, but Jones’ diary-esque telling of that encounter was compelling in an almost confessional way.
It’ll be interesting to see if Koch’s approach sufficiently differentiates her film from Jones‘, which screened at several festivals and is available on DVD via Frameline. I’ll tell you one thing: I never thought I’d have to worry about Latino Morrissey fan doc fatigue.
UPDATE: In the comments, Matt Dentler and Tom Hall point to Viva Morrissey, another doc about Morrissey’s Latino fans (this one’s a short), which screened at SXSW in 2006. I haven’t seen it, but of the three films, it certainly has the most sophisticated trailer.
Via Filmmaker Magazine, The House Next Door, and a typically bratty excoriation from Reverse Shot (”America\’s favorite dunderkind is back. And this time financed, inexplicably, by fashion magnate Agn
Disney unveiled its through-2012 animation slate this week, with projects including “a sequel to Cars [and] an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story,” and a commitment to releasing nothing but digital 3D.
