President Reagan thought the end credits were too long

An interesting anecdote from Steven Spielberg on his meeting President Reagan at a private screening of E.T. from Ain’t It Cool News:

It was in the White House screening room and Reagan got up to thank me for bringing the film to show the President, the First Lady and all of their guests, which included Sandra Day O’Connor in her first week of as a Justice of the Supreme Court, and it included some astronauts… I think Neil Armstrong was there, I’m not 100% certain, but it was an amazing, amazing evening.

He just stood up and he looked around the room, almost like he was doing a headcount, and he said, “I wanted to thank you for bringing E.T. to the White House. We really enjoyed your movie,” and then he looked around the room and said, “And there are a number of people in this room who know that everything on that screen is absolutely true.”

And he said it without smiling! But he said that and everybody laughed, by the way. The whole room laughed because he presented it like a joke, but he wasn’t smiling as he said it.

The room did laugh and then later on I’ll never forget my conversation with the President. He pulled me aside, he said… and I can’t do Reagan. I wish I could do that breathy, wonderful voice of his… And Nancy Reagan was standing right next to him and the President said to me, “I only have one criticism about your movie,” and I said “What’s that?” He said, “How long were the end credits?” I said, “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe three, three and a half minutes?” He said, “In my day, when I was an actor, our end credits were maybe 15 seconds long.”

He said, “Why don’t you let everybody get a credit… three and a half, four minutes, that’s fine, but only show that inside the industry, but throughout the rest of the country reduce your credits to 15 seconds at the end?” Nancy Reagan turned to him and said, “Oh, Ronny, they can’t do that. You know that.” And he went, “Oh, yes, yes. I suppose.” (laughs) That was the extent of my conversation about that . That was his only criticism, he felt the end credits were too long!

Overall, it’s a pretty fun interview! Go ahead and check it out.

Delicious animation

A pretty awesome animation by Alexandre Dubosc using all kinds of delicious edibles.

Bridesmaids and Feminism

There’s been some buzz around the blogosphere about what kind of feminist statement, if any, the film Bridesmaids makes.  I don’t think the film itself contains a strong feminist message, so much as a yay sisterhood thing, but the fact that it was made is undoubtedly a good thing for women.  Ladies are underrepresented in Hollywood, both as writers and as stars of non-sucky movies, especially of the comedy variety.

I was rooting for Bridesmaids even before I saw it, but now, even more so.  Bottom line, the movie is funny.  Like, almost-peed-my-pants-funny.  Laughed-so-hard-I-almost-cried funny.

And as for its feminist cred, I think there’s something pretty cool, if not quite radical, about a movie that features women who seem like actual people instead of caricatures.  This is especially redeeming for Judd Apatow, whose films tend to feature women as shrill shrewish kill-joys.  Sure, they’re more mature  than their man-child counterparts, but who’d want to hang out with them?  Whereas the ladies of Bridesmaids seem like they’d be great fun to get drinks with.

Bridesmaids clearly passes the so-called Bechdel test, a measure of women’s role in movies.  Alison Bechdel came up with the idea in a comic strip in which one character says she only watches a movie if it meets these requirements:

1. It has to have at least two women in it,
2. Who talk to each other,
3. About something other than a man.

(Wikipedia)

It’s kind of startling how many movies fail this simple test.  In Bridesmaids, most scenes meet all three criteria.  I like the way the women’s friendship is the central relationship; even the main character’s love interest is a secondary plot line.  As my mom pointed out, even though it’s a “wedding movie,” the groom doesn’t actually have any lines.  Plus the wedding itself makes up about five minutes of screen time.

Also, it’s really funny.  Not just for chicks– my boyfriend liked it, too (I’ll admit, not as much as I did, but then, I really loved it).   Here’s hoping the movie makes a ton of money and leads to a whole rash of funny, female-driven comedies.

Existential Star Wars

This is pretty incredible. From the YouTube description:

Star Wars with a French existentialist twist. Almost all the subtitles (except for little things like “Despair!” and “I die!” and a few others) are actually quotes from Jean-Paul Sartre. And obviously this will make no sense if you understand French. If you do know it, hit yourself in the head repeatedly before watching this. And then hit yourself repeatedly when you’re done watching.

“Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi. I exist, and I find it nauseating.”

Flower Bed

On my walk to work back on March 28 I noticed a couple bulbs sprouting and thought I had a good idea.  Here is a 30 second video of my 19 chronological shots over the course of 43 days.

Probably the closest thing to arts and crafts I’ve done since the 10th grade. Even though it is kinda crappy, I’m actually kinda proud of it.

Death / Hitchcock

The video, from Ultra Culture, is death scenes from 36 of Hitchcock’s movies, synchronized to climax together. Insane.

Carry on.

Atlas Shrugged: The Motion Picture

I can’t can totally believe that somebody is making a motion picture out of this modern-day scripture. WHO IS THIS JOHN GALT? I’m in total suspense.

If the trailer is any guide, the film promises to be as incoherent as the “philosophy” and “story” of the original book. I know exactly where I’ll be at midnight on April 15 (Tax Day, OMG!).

The Hidden McBain Movie?

Do all McBain clips from the Simpsons add up to one action movie? They just might.

Fighting off the Winter Blues: Arts & Culture Edition

Congratulations, blog readers, you’ve made it through the first week of 2011.  How’s the new year shaping up, everybody?  I have to say that personally, I’m not so impressed so far.  It really was a terrible idea to stick the new year holiday at the beginning of one of the most dismal months of the year.  January is always kind of a downer– holidays and vacations are over, winter isn’t anywhere near over, and everything takes on a kind of gray sheen.

I’m trying to take on the winter blues in a couple ways: 1) sleeping as much as possible.  2) when not asleep, staying inside on the couch for long stretches.  3) when not in hibernation mode, taking advantage of the fact that I live in a really cool city by doing fun DC things like a tourist instead of a jaded resident.

My “DC thing” this week was going to the National Portrait Gallery, my favorite museum in DC.  It’s a beautiful building, with the most amazing courtyard:

That in itself makes it worth a visit–a few minutes in the courtyard goes a long way to lifting my spirits– but the art is pretty cool too.  The museum houses both the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and there are some wonderful permanent collections.

This visit, I wanted to see Hide/Seek, ”the first major museum exhibition to focus on sexual difference in the making of modern American portraiture.  The exhibition features pieces by a wide range of artists, including John Singer Sargent, Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keefe, Keith Haring, and Romaine Brooks, among many others.  The pieces on display vary as well, from paintings with explicit themes of sexuality to others whose tie to the theme is simply the orientation of the artist or subject.  A number of pieces deal with the AIDS crisis, some of them very powerfully and poignantly.  I found Hide/Seek quite compelling and worth the trip.

As with all the Smithsonian museums, the Portrait Gallery is free, which makes it easy if you just have an hour or two.  I actually wished I’d left myself a little more time, so I might try to go back before the exhibit closes on Feb 13.

Readers, what are your favorite methods to shake off the January doldrums?

“Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune” documentary release tomorrow

TwentyFourBit:

In which the great protest singer Phil Ochs, who tragically died at only 35 after suffering from mental illness, gets his due via this Kenneth Bowser-directed documentary, featuring interviews with the likes of Billy Bragg, Sean Penn (Ochs inspired him to become an actor), Joan Baez, and more. A few Q&A clips are available to preview here, as well.

This looks like it’s going to be great. If you’re like me, and have loved some Phil Ochs for a long time (and maybe have read the incredible Michael Schumacher biography by the same name, although I’m not sure if there’s a connection between the book and documentary), you’re probably now excited. Hell, if you’ve never heard of him, you’re welcome.

It opens tomorrow in nine cities (but not D.C., dammit).

V+V Remembers 2010: A skewed-towards-sitcoms top 10 best television shows

Yeah, I’m the one on this blog that watches a lot of television. Yeah, I probably missed your favorite—what do you think I missed?

1. Friday Night Lights

In its fifth and last season on DirecTV (the amazing fourth season aired in the Spring on NBC), FNL is the best drama on television right now. Last season’s episode “The Son” showed how gripping, and downright devastating, a character-focused episode of television can be. It’s a shame this show never really found a wide audience, but it’s also interesting how many are just now discovering the show. Perhaps if it didn’t air on Friday nights on NBC. (Wednesdays on DirecTV’s 101 Network)

2. Parks and Recreation

On hiatus currently because of star Amy Poehler’s pregnancy, the second season of the show, which ended in the Spring, was a fantastic rebirth of this single-camera show focusing on a small-town government agency. Much like Greg Daniel’s earlier project, The Office, the strong writing and acting allow every character the ability to be both hilarious and touching. (Thursdays on NBC)

3. Party Down

It was on Starz, and as a result, nobody saw it. Yet, it was one of the funniest shows on television following a troupe of Hollywood characters who all work for a catering company. It’s possible that the name was a little confusing (many people I’ve describe the show to thought it was a show about partying.) You can catch the second season right now on Netflix Instant View, although I kind of prefer the first. (Starz, Canceled)

4. Parenthood

A drama from Jason Katims, the same creator from Friday Night Lights, and the show has a similar feel. It’s a retelling of the 1989 film by the same name, a follows a similar large extended family. (Tuesdays, NBC)

5. Better Off Ted

Here’s an ABC sitcom nobody watched, but was probably the best satirical look at the modern corporate office workplace, complete with parody ads. It was fun to watch Portia de Rossi play a smarter and way meaner character than Lindsay Funke. Comparisons to the funky and offbeat feel of Arrested Development should not be tossed aside. Where The Office was about an office, Better Off Ted was about corporate culture. (ABC, Canceled)

6. Community

A group of rejects attend a community college. What am I kidding, you’re already watching this. (NBC, Thursdays)

7. Rubicon

An ambitious serial following an intrepid intelligence analyst as he uncovers a massive conspiracy. While slightly uneven (probably due to the showrunner changing after just a couple of episodes), the show’s gritty texture, dark storytelling, slow pace and solid acting made it one of the most interesting pieces of television in several years. (AMC, Canceled)

8. Modern Family

It’s finally a good, modern reissuing of the family sitcom. And it’s really, really funny, unlike Full house. (ABC, Wednesdays)

9. 30 Rock

Who would have thought that a show about a live comedy show would be one of the funniest shows ever produced? And who would have thought that it would go up against another show in its first year with the same exact premise, but written by wunderkind Aaron Sorkin and win? Well, she may have flopped on SNL, but Tina Fey made a genius sitcom, and it only helps that it features the brilliant Alec Baldwin. (NBC, Thursdays)

10. Rescue Me

A show about New York City firefighters dealing with the aftermath of September 11. Yes, created by and starring Denis Leary, and it’s some of the most gripping and troubling television ever produced. Oh, and often downright hilarious. The final season airs next Spring/Summer on FX. Watch this clip, especially at the 3:00 point:

V+V Remembers 2010: Best things we watched thanks to Netflix

Estes:

The Wire.

Jack Burden:

Lawrence of Arabia: Almost certain there was not one women cast in the whole movie. Seriously, a lot of testosterone on that set.

Lady Blaga:

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Poplicola:

In Bruges. (DVD only) Not sure how I missed that before recently, but holy shit. The Boys and Girls Guide to Getting Down is a pretty entertaining portrait of L.A. hipster life through the lens of a satirical 1970s-style educational film (Instant View). Honorable Mentions: A Serious Man, Informant!. (Both DVD only)

Also, did you realize how many episodes of King of the Hill there are? There are a lot! (Instant View!)

Nemo:

The Damned United.

V+V Remembers 2010: Movies we weren’t pissed off after spending $10 to see

Nemo:

Jack Burden:

Fair Game (Valerie Plame): The one benefit we got from the sheer indecency, self centered act of leaking a spy’s identity was a fucking cool story about a real life spy.

The Ghost of Hemingway’s Gun:

I honestly don’t think I went to the movies this year, once.

Lady Blaga:

Fair Game
The Social Network
The Kids Are Alright
Toy Story 3

Poplicola:

The Social Network
Black Swan
Inception

If you had told me last year that my favorite movie of the year would be about Facebook, I would spit my whiskey comically. If you had told me it would be screen-written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, I’d find it slightly more believable. If you had told me that I’d describe a Aronofsky movie as “beautiful” but “in the end, overwrought and disappointingly predictable”— well, that would be the opposite of an Aronofsky movie! and I’d laugh. But it was still really good!

And, I know, but it’s been months since you saw Inception. But, c’mon, wasn’t it kind of bad ass?!

V+V Remembers 2010: Books we only liked enough to get from the library (and sometimes never finished)

Poplicola:

Game Change. The first 20 pages I read were way too terrible to continue reading. To compensate, for the rest of the year I only read American novels and novellas from 1920s through the 1960s. In other words, yes, Mark Halperin drives me to read books by drunks.

Jack Burden:

Small Business Financial Management Kit For Dummies, by Tage C. Tracy and John A. Tracy: Yes, the yellow one, how else to know the difference between a S corp and C corp?

Didn’t finish: Henry Clay by David Heidler and Jeanne Heidler – but seriously, all the dueling was spot on.

Lady Blaga:

Jonathan Franzen, Freedom

(I’m a little ashamed that my book category has almost nothing in it, but I don’t tend to read books the year they come out, apparently.)

The Ghost of Hemingway’s Gun:

1. Paul Auster – Sunset Park
2. Philip Roth – Nemesis
3. Michael Lewis – The Big Short

Didn’t Finish:

1. Hitch-22
2. John Hick – Between Faith and Doubt: Dialogues on Religion and Reason
3. Time Parks – Teach Us to Sit Still
4. Yann Martel – Beatrice and Virgil (And I will never finish that garbage)

But, some that were totally worth buying:

1. Tony Judt – Ill Fares the Land
2. Jonathan Franzen – Freedom
3. Jorge Luis Borges – The Perpetual Race of Achilles and the Tortoise
4. Colm Toibin - The Empty Family
5. Judith Schalansky – The Atlas of Remote Islands

Nemo:

Well, here’s the deal.  I don’t read new books. Unlike music, movies, or video games, reading books requires a massive investment in time and intellectual and/or emotional energy. And there are a lot of them! So, my usual M.O is to let myself fall behind the literary zeitgeist and read the books that still seem worthwhile 5-10 years after publication. Right now I’m reading The Enchantress of Florence, which is the newest book I’ve read, and that’s a major exception made for one of my favorite authors.

Looking Back Through C-SPAN #4

It’s over, and the 111th will forever be known for the craptastic economy.  With better things to do there was no way you could have been watching C-SPAN every minute of the day, so we are bringing you 10 of the most memorable clips from (or occurring during) the 111th Congress that C-SPAN had to offer.

You know we had to fit in one clip from Book TV.  This starts no where and gets really good.