Good day! My call is Mark Olsen. Welcome to your old global box consultant edition of Only Good Movies.
Arguably the biggest news of the week came from an interview in the British film magazine Sight and Sound that director David Lynch was diagnosed with emphysema and this reduced his ability in the world. “I’m homebound, whether I like it or not,” he said.
The author of such unique films as “Blue Velvet,” “Wild at Heart,” “Lost Highway” and “Mulholland Drive,” Lynch won an honorary Oscar in 2010. His last feature film was “Inland Empire” in 2006, still in 2017 he premiered the 18-episode series “Twin Peaks: The Return”.
Through social media, Lynch, 78, said he quit smoking two years ago, adding, “I have to say I enjoyed smoking and I love tobacco: the smell of it, lighting cigarettes, smoking them. . . but it’s worth it. “
Lynch continued: “I’ve had a lot of tests done recently and the news is that I’m in wonderful shape, except for the emphysema. I’m full of happiness and will never give up.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” will be re-released in a new 4K recovery of the original camera negative. While Coppola tweaked and reconfigured many of his films to re-release them, “The Conversation” remained unchanged. In press releases about the new recovery, Coppola called it “a film I’m proud of, I never felt the need to improve it. “
The story follows a San Francisco audio surveillance expert, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), who becomes obsessed with a recorded verbal exchange that turns out to involve a lot more data than when it was first heard. As Caul finds himself increasingly immersed in a web of intrigue and paranoia, he loses all sense of who he is and the strict professional barriers he has imposed on himself. The cast also includes Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, John Cazale, Frederic Forrest, Cindy Williams, and Allen Garfield.
“The Conversation” won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In what remains a stunning achievement, two of Coppola’s films — “The Conversation” and “The Godfather II” — were nominated for most productive image at that year’s Academy Awards. “The Godfather II” won, while Coppola was also nominated for original screenplay for “The Conversation” and won for adapted screenplay and director for “The Godfather II. “(“The Conversation” also nominated for sound via Coppola’s common collaborator, Walter Murch. )
Fortunately, “The Godfather II” is broadcast in a rare print run on I. B. 35mm Technicolor at the New Beverly on Saturday afternoons, so it’s imaginable to spend the day admiring the breadth of Coppola’s 1974 output.
In his original 1974 Times review, Charles Champlin wrote: “’The Conversation’ is a film that works for me on every level: as a message image dramatizing the nightmarish possibilities of a violation of privacy. ; as a complex and suspenseful plot; as a gripping examination of a whiny character who becomes captive to his own dark abilities; as a desirable and detailed social document in its look at electronic listening techniques. From Harry’s loft laboratory to the basement of his daughter’s apartment, the surroundings of San Francisco are as they should be captured.
While enjoying the film for The Times in 2022, Kenneth Turan wrote: “Harry would probably be using a reel-to-reel tape, but in the end it’s in his depiction of a world where everyone listens all the time that ‘The Conversation’ in fact, seems timeless and current. The consequences of this global phenomenon, both for the supervisor and the supervised, are certainly a lesson for our time.
Online streaming platform NoBudge will host its first in-person event in Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday at Look Dine-In Cinema in Glendale. The short film systems will be held on other nights and a total of 18 films will be screened, all made by Los Angeles filmmakers, some of which are Los Angeles premieres.
Showcasing low-budget independent filmmaking, NoBudge was founded in 2011 through Kentucker actor and filmmaker Audley, who has co-directed and starred in films such as “Strawberry Mansion” and “Sylvio” and has acted as an actor in films such as “She Dies Tomorrow. “In a phone interview this week, New York-based Audley said he first conceived of the site as a home for feature films, but eventually turned to programming short films.
“Most people don’t take short films very seriously,” Audley said. “And I think there’s a clever explanation for why to include them in the conversation, especially if you’re interested in young filmmakers and emerging voices. It’s kind of a position where you first emerge. I think making short films before embarking on feature films influences the voice of the filmmakers and the clarity of their vision.
Programs on the Los Angeles lineup include “Ladies,” written and directed by Allison Bunce, “Pizza Party,” directed by Gabe Ross-Reich and Eli Leonard, and “Deepfake Apology Video,” directed by Brooke Bundy and Jerzy Rose.
Those who have seen their paintings appear at other NoBudge events include Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik (recently nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay of Todd Haynes’ “May December”), as well as Shaka King, Dasha Nekrasova, Lance Oppenheim, Charlotte Wells, Joanna . Arnow, Andrew DeYoung, and India Donaldson. Actors Kate Berlant, Timothée Chalamet, Rachel Sennott and Zazie Beetz have starred in films that have made an impression on the site.
The so-called NoBudge would possibly clearly be short for “no budget,” but it also means staying away from an independent mindset and celebrating the artistic freedom that comes with a lack of traditional resources.
“It’s this dual meaning that goes unnoticed,” Audley said. “A lot of times other people immediately think it’s about money. And that’s it, of course. But it is also a question of philosophy and attitude that consists of facing cinema without compromises, in an artistic way. »
“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” in 35 mm
The Academy Museum will screen tonight Russ Meyer’s notoriously insane 1970 35mm film, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” from a screenplay by film critic Roger Ebert. The film will be introduced through one of its stars, John LaZar, who, as satirical music producer Z-Man, exclaims the film’s most famous line: “This is my chance and it scares me!”
It’s the kind of movie where trying to describe the story is irrelevant. However, they are three young people from a rock band who plunge headlong into a Hollywood world of decadence and depravity.
In a strangely brief and dismissive review of the era, Charles Champlin wrote: “The crisis in Hollywood, generated by costly miscalculations on the part of executives, generates new miscalculations that may not turn out to be true. Also expensive in dollars, But it can still be expensive. Fox, desperately looking to stay afloat, turned to sex-profit pioneer Russ Meyer for “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,” which, appropriately, is not a sequel but a smart stock market. It is a combination of hypermammal girls, apparent double meanings and sadistic violence, who suffer from serious health problems.
Champlin concluded: “There is a widespread view that good fortune at any price justifies any price. I reject this view. No good fortune is worth the damage inflicted on the human spirit through this rubbish.
“Inner Space” by Joe Dante
Joe Dante is too simple a filmmaker to ignore. One of the leading graduates of Roger Corman’s involuntary film school, where talented young filmmakers were able to learn about his work, Dante captures a crazy, unpredictable power that is exciting to The director himself will be at Vidiots on Saturday for the screening of his 1987 film “Innerspace. “
In this film, Dennis Quaid plays a test pilot who engages in a specialized miniaturization task and finds himself injected into a hypochondriac played by Martin Short. Meg Ryan also appears as Quaid’s journalist friend who is unknowingly attracted to Short.
In the original Times review of Sheila Benson, she wrote, “Dante is not one who appreciates serene prospects or orderly action; He almost has a vision of life in the manner of an automobile cartoonist and will pay affectionate little triyetes to old films on each and every occasion. Moment. . . At two o’clock, ‘Innerspace’ is really action-packed, but it’s one of the few productions played by Spielberg that doesn’t suffer from a gigantic numbness (maybe that’s the miniaturization theme). technical marvels (Short’s rubber-face maneuver, the balancing car chase sequence, the interior frame scenes, the half-pint villainous masters) remains skillful and affectionate, his touch human to the end.
‘EL. History’ in 35mm
Tonight, Vidiots will broadcast “L. A. Story”, scripted by Steve Martin, in 35mm. As the name suggests, the film is a loving and conscious tribute to Los Angeles, in which Martin bets on a local television meteorologist who is unlucky in love. In an interview for the film’s 30th anniversary in 2021 with Brian Tallerico, Martin talked about the tone of the film. when he said: “I think deep down I’m incredibly sentimental. I hope it’s something smart. And romance has had a vital meaning: the magic of romance. Los Angeles wasn’t really romantic for me, but over time I learned that there were those secret places (we even used them in the movie), those charming Moroccan courtyards in the middle of Hollywood. It is a captivating town if you decide where to go. The concept came to me when I was driving on the highway and saw those road signs and thought, “What if that spoke to me?” »The people helped me. The concept that everyone was interconnected – not like God, but like a guru – encouraged me to think romantically about the city.
In his original Times review, critic Peter Rainer wrote: “‘L. A. Story’ has an original spirit. It’s undulating but deeply romantic, impotent. It’s a movie about falling in love, for women, Los Angeles, for comedy. Mick Jackson , the Brit who directed from Martin’s script, offers a whirlwind of familiar Los Angeles locations, but they are remodeled thanks to the filmmakers’ ardor. The images have a twist, as if we too feel seduced by all this. They seek to be enchanted. It is this thirst for attractiveness that unifies the film’s crazy mix of styles and atmospheres. It is an incredibly fun experience.
Steve Martin rejects “SNL”
Speaking of Steve Martin, the star is recently nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in “Only Murders in the Building” (as is his co-star Martin Short). A new documentary about him, “Steve! (Martin): A 2-Piece Documentary,” won nominations, so he called our own Glenn Whipp this week.
There’s been a lot of debate recently about Martin playing vice presidential candidate Tim Walz on “Saturday Night Live” this season, as opposed to Maya Rudolph as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
It turns out that Martin had just spoken to “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels earlier that day, who had introduced him to the role of Walz. “I looked to say no, and along the way, he looked to me to say no. ” Martin told us. “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You want someone who can nail the guy. ‘ They picked me because I have gray hair and glasses.
The time commitment also made Martin reluctant to take on the role.
“It’s ongoing,” Martin said. “It’s not like you do it once, get applause and never do it again. Again, they want a real impressionist to do this. They’re going to find someone very good. I would have a bad time.
Free screening of “Between the Temples”
On Monday night we’ll have a free screening at Landmark Theaters Sunset of the intergenerational romantic comedy “Between the Temples,” which premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival. After the film, I’ll be hosting a Q&A with filmmaker Nathan Silver and stars Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane. You can RSVP here.
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Mark Olsen writes about all kinds of films for the Los Angeles Times as a screenwriter and critic.
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