Pop singer Katy Perry and Twilight star Kristen Stewart are reportedly fighting over a plum role in an upcoming movie about the life of flamboyant Queen front man Freddie Mercury. According to a recent article, the pair are both vying against Lady Gaga for the role of Mary Austin, Mercury’s lifelong best friend and confidante with whom he had a romantic relationship in the ’70s.
Mercury lived with Austin in the early ’70s before beginning a relationship with a male record company executive, and even after that, the pair were best friends for the rest of his life. He was the godfather to her oldest son, and when he died in 1991, he left his London home to Austin instead of his partner, Jim Hutton.
“Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Kristen Stewart are on the short list for Mary, who played a huge role in Freddie’s life,” a source reportedly told Star magazine (quote via Popcrush). “They all desperately want the part, and it’s getting ugly!”
Sacha Baron Cohen is slated to play Mercury in the biopic, and he reportedly has the final say in choosing his leading lady. The women apparently aren’t doing themselves any favors with their catty behavior. “With the girls fighting like this, it’s just hurting their chances of getting the part,” the source adds. “It’s unprofessional, and Sacha is tired of the back-and-forth — he wants to choose one of them and be done with it.”
Screenwriter Peter Morgan says he has had to tread carefully in dealing with the three surviving members of Queen for the film, which has no title or projected release date as yet. ‘Queen are sensitive because it will show rancour and disagreements in the collaborative process,” he tells Time Out. “In a way, the film, for me, reflects my own experience of film making as a collaborative process. Just as a film is never the result of one person, so the band doesn’t like the idea of Queen being ‘a band by Freddie Mercury’ – and they’re right. It won’t just be about Freddie Mercury.”
Inspired by the movie Up, British designer Christopher Duffy created this unique, hand crafted coffee table, where the clear glass top appears to be floating atop lighter than air balloons, from toughened Glass, metal resin composite and toughened steel rods. Limited to an edition of only twenty, this playful piece that would be a conversation starter in any area of your home can be yours for about $9,300.
There are certain movies that contain secret plot twists whose reveal is so pivotal to the way the film plays out – The Crying Game and Sixth Sense come to mind immediately – that the only way to avoid spoiling the film is to go into it with virtually no knowledge of what the movie is “about,” save for perhaps the most skeletal of story lines. The Joss Whedon-produced, Drew Goddard-directed horror/comedy The Cabin in The Woods is one such film. As I sat through the closing credits at last night’s press screening (exit music by Nine Inch Nails. Yes!) I was honestly confounded as to how I could “review” this film without ruining the sublime pleasure of navigating its multilayered, non-traditional plot detours. Because, in this case, the less you know about The Cabin in the Woods, the more satisfying your experience of the movie will be.
Sitting on the shelves at MGM for three years, Cabin’s release is perfectly timed to advance the hype of Whedon’s upcoming blockbuster-to-be, The Avengers, while also, purely by coincidence, having something in common with current box office smash The Hunger Games – and that can’t be bad for business. The basic plot launches from a weekend trip taken by five college student friends to a remote Cabin, ostensibly owned by one character’s cousin: a trip, of course, during which everything goes horribly, irreversibly wrong. These five kids embody every teen-slasher-flick-character cliché: there’s the Jock, the Slut, the Studious Girl, the Stoner Nerd who provides comic relief and the Nice Guy. From the film’s kick off, a parallel storyline involving a high tech company whose employees appear to know much more about the Cabin in The Woods than the five teens immediately takes the film to a level beyond the mundane and predictable. As the two main technicians, veteran actors Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under) and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) deliver some of the film’s best lines of sharp, comedic dialog and continuously break or heighten the tension as they manipulate the kids into behaving in ways that will lead them into further danger. And that’s all I’m going say about it, because, really, what comes next, and then next after that, is just too good to give away. Two horror stories that came to mind while watching Cabin include the film Thirteen Ghosts and Clive Barker’s original-novel version of Midnight Meat Train. If those comparisons pique your interest, The Cabin in The Woods is your wet dream of a horror film. I never go to see movies like this, and I really loved it.
Opening Nationwide on Friday, April 13th, The Worley Gig Gives The Cabin in the Woods Four out of Five Stars!
On This Date in 1981: The Penelope Spheeris-directed Punk Rock Documentary, The Decline Of Western Civilization debuted in Southern California. Capturing the ferocity of the thriving and wildly influential LA and Orange County Punk music scene, Decline featured live performances from Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, Fear, Alice Bag Band, X, Catholic Discipline and The Germs, whose now long-deceased lead singer, Darby Crash graces the central spot of the promo poster. Many of the film’s live performance scenes were shot at The Fleetwood, a cavernous live music venue near the pier in Redondo Beach, which I believe was formerly home to a Bowling Alley or Skate Rink.
1. Wes Bentley’s Beard!
2. Stanley Tucci’s Hair-do. Plus: Acting!
3. Elizabeth Banks’ Make Up!
4. Katniss & Peeta’s Flaming Parade Costumes! Fire!
5. Lenny Kravitz as a Costume Designer!
6. The “Apple” Scene!
7. Realistic Depiction of Acid Trip-style Hallucinations induced by Tracker Jacker Wasp Stings!
8. Josh Hutcherson: Hot!
9. “First Date with Crush: Camping Trip from Hell!”
10. Woody Harrelson kind of Playing Himself!
OK, normally, when I post any photo of a tattoo, it’s because that tattoo is fairly heinous. But this tattoo above, depicting Jareth, the Goblin King as portrayed by David Bowie in the 1986 film Labyrinth is, well, quite sharp actually. It’s not necessarily my bag (if I were going for a Bowie Tatt, I’d be much more likely to choose a Ziggy Stardust likeness) but it’s still very skillfully done! What do you think?
Three Words: Punk Rock Dads. Without going into any detail at all, just the idea that anyone would make a documentary film about Punk Rock Dads is so golden. I mean, seriously: taking the ultimate anti-authoritarian pop-culture figure and putting him in the position of being the iron-fisted authority in a child’s life is both wildly fascinating and unbelievably hilarious. So, convincing me to check out the new film, The Other F Word, (the “F” standing for Fatherhood) directed by Andrea Blaugrund Nevins was a total no-brainer. Because, Punk Rock Dads! The LA and Orange Country Punk Rock scene of the late 70s / early 80s was HUGE for me when I was a teenager and into my early 20s. Being aware that a number of the “kids” I grew up with in Southern California would be featured musicians in the film, I knew this would be an enjoyable viewing experience, but honestly, I had no idea what I was in for. As riveting as any scripted drama, unbelievably funny and deeply – often unexpectedly – emotionally gut wrenching, The Other F Word is one of the best movies of 2011 and is way up there on my top 10 list of best music documentaries I’ve seen. I just loved this movie so much and can’t recommend it highly enough.
Blaugrund Nevins interviewed about two dozen Punk Dads for the film, and she got a really good mix, but the ones that get the most screen time are Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg (whom I’d call the “star” of the film), Art Alexakis (Everclear), Fat Mike (NOFX), Lars Frederiksen (Rancid), Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Ron Reyes (Black Flag), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pro-Skating legend Tony Hawk, Drummer Josh Freese and Tony Brandenburg (The Adolescents). All of these guys are clearly just in love with being Dads and are entirely devoted to their children, who range in age from infants to grown teenagers. The guys come off as being really cool people in addition to being great Dads, and a lot of candid and funny moments got captured on film.
Lars Fredriksen and his Son
I loved the part where Lars Fredriksen (who has a tattooed forehead and sports a cheetah print buzzcut) jokes in one scene that the quickest way to clear a playground of kids and their moms is to “have the punk rock dad show up with the camera crew.” There’s also a very “punk rock” scene in which Josh Freese and his son play catch with a dirty diaper, and any scene that Fat Mike is in steals the show! It is not surprising that many of the Dads reveal that they are determined to be “the dad [they] never had.”
Fat Mike and His Daughter
In addition to the many scenes of these guys interacting with their children and relating hilarious anecdotes about their personal experiences with parenthood, the film spends an entire section discussing what it’s like to be a working musician whose band’s financial success is the basis of how they put food on the table. With the possible exception of Flea, Josh Freese or Mark from Blink 182, who probably never have to work a day job again if they don’t want to, none of these guys are in millionaire Rock Star bands, but rather are working-class musicians who must tour up to 300 or more days per year to support their families. It’s surprising how many of the guys featured in the film admit that they never got into music to make money, but now, 20 years into it they’ve managed to earn a steady and viable income playing punk rock music. Like the story of the Golden Handcuffs, the downside to “realizing the dream” while making a living in a changing musical environment is that it requires them to be away from their kids for such a major part of the year that they miss out on first days of school, ball games and birthdays. Many wonder aloud in this film if it is worth it. One, ultimately, decides that it is not.
You may still be able to find The Other F Word showing at a theater near you (visit This Link for theater engagements), but if you’ve already missed out on seeing it on the big screen, the film will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray on January 31st, and is well worth owning. Executive Produced by Morgan Spurlock and Jeremy Chilnick, The Other F Word will appeal to music fans – and fans of these featured bands in particular – cool parents and anyone who loves a good documentary film.
The Worley Gig Gives The Other F Word Five Out of Five Stars!! Watch the Trailer Below!
I saw Color Me Obsessed, The Replacements’ documentary, last night and really enjoyed it. It was a good-sized crowd in the theater, though probably with the narrowest age range you would ever see at a movie (from about age 45 – 55 ). First and foremost, Color Me Obsessed is a movie for fans only. Each story about a particularly awesome or atrocious gig was met with knowing nods and laughs from the crowd. I can’t imagine anyone who doesn’t know about the band enjoying it. And, with no music from them included in the film (more about that later), it doesn’t expose them to a new audience.
The film offers a great chronology of The Replacements and features lots of back-story on what was happening in the Minneapolis punk scene of the time. Interestingly, it has plenty of interviews with members of Husker Du (though not Bob Mould), but not with the other big TwinTone band of the time, Soul Asylum. It does offer profiles of the surviving band members with an emphasis on the late Bob Stinson, who Director Gorman Bechard sees as the core and spirit of the band.
All of the talking heads (including Tommy Ramone, Peter Zaremba, Jessie Malin, John Rzeznik and Steve Albini, among numerous others) are clearly hardcore fans. It’s interesting that almost none of them are upset that Stinson left/got fired from the band because of alcohol abuse, showing a lack of concern about his health, but others felt that it represented the band “selling out,” which pissed them off. This sentiment contrasts with how much affinity these fans/friends had with the members because they were “regular guys.” In some ways the film (inadvertently) shines a bright light on the indie scene. Everyone’s favorite record was the one they heard first (Let it Be being the exception for some of those there at the beginning), which tends to reveal how hardcore fans can have problems changing with the band.
The central question is whether The Replacements made records their fans loved because they were fuck ups (and we saw their zenith) or whether, had they not been fuck ups, they would have reached a wider audience. The answer is, of course, unknowable, but after the first few laughs of them doing something stupid to either just be assholes or sabotage their career, it just gets sad. Plenty of bands cleaned their act up and made great records. Why not them?
Director Gorman Bechard was present at the screening to talk about the film and why he decided to not use any of the band’s music, etc. As he explained it, he likened it to faith. Bechard proposed that if people can believe in god by only reading about him, then they could do the same about The Replacements – and he believed in The Replacements. I reasoned that there were licensing issues as well, though you would think that, since the movie was a love letter to the band, the record companies would have licensed the music without a problem. NBC letting them show the SNL performances; well, that’s probably a different story. One thing giving credence to his explanation is that the film used very few pictures of the band as well (and most of those were at the very end). I’m assuming those would be plentiful and inexpensive. The bottom line is that if you are a fan of the band you’ll like the movie.
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars. To find a screening of Color Me Obsessed in your area visit This Link.
I don’t imagine that many individuals would disagree with a statement made by Ministry front man Al Jourgensen close to the beginning of Fix – a profoundly gritty and utterly compelling documentary of which he is the primary focus – that the best job to have is one where you’re paid to be yourself. Possibly the single most influential musician of the Industrial music genre and an undeniably notorious and outspoken character, Jourgensen has never “posed” nor compromised for the sake of his art. In fact, he’s pretty much always earned a pay check for the talents involved in just being Al Jourgensen. Fifteen years ago, while Ministry was touring the world in support of the Filth Pig album, Al was a relentless junkie who was equal parts devil and messiah to everyone who entered his orbit. Someone on that tour bus was a filmmaker with a camera. Fix: The Ministry Movie is the resultant documentation of the full immersion into Al’s world of someone who was, essentially, just along for the ride. Most of the journey isn’t very pretty.
Directed by Douglas Freel (an award-winning music video director now working in feature length films) Fix is a straightforward, unapologetically graphic and unflinchingly brutal look into the behind the scenes minutia of Ministry’s 1996 Sphinctour. Adding depth and amazing color to what would have been outstanding subject matter even if simply left as a tour documentary (see Sphinctour 2002) are extensive “Talking Head” interviews with musical luminaries and Jourgensen devotees such as Trent Reznor, Ogre of Skinny Puppy, Dave Navarro, Maynard James Keenan, the Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, Jonathan Davis of Korn and Jesus Lizard front man David Yow (who is also extensively fully naked in the film. You have been warned). These heavy hitters – many of them former addicts and alcoholics themselves – not only freely praise Al’s creative genius and often beguiling personality but also closely examine his addiction as being almost expected given his chosen work environment. As both insiders and critics, they universally offer wide-eyed wonder that Al could abuse himself to such an extreme degree and not be six feet under. Ultimately, Fix explores how far beyond sanity it is possible to go under the right circumstances and still manage to come back alive.
Also invited to shine a light on the claustrophobic inner workings of the band is Al’s long time creative partner Paul Barker, as well as then-Ministry touring members Duane Buford, Zlatko Hukic, Louis Svitek and, in what I would call one of the films “significant supporting roles,” drummer Rey Washam. Washam, an amazing drummer and obviously a very smart guy, openly discusses how the pressure of being a part of the Ministry machine drove him to heroin addiction. His occasional voice over narrations and on-screen time provide some of the best moments in the film. Other highlights include Reznor’s comment that it was so refreshing to hear a band doing something that couldn’t be directly linked to the influence of “The Beatles or Black Sabbath” and Dave Navarro’s hilarious confession that, while he and fellow Jane’s Addiction members Perry Farrel and Eric Avery were certainly full on Junkies during a shared tour bill with Ministry, at least they weren’t “as bad as Al.” Various record label executives from Ministry’s tenure on the Warner Bros label also chime in with insightful and deeply candid personal accounts of what it was like working with Ministry and Al. One gentleman remembers that it was never possible to have an appointment to hear samples of Ministry’s progress in the studio on one day “and make it to work the next day.”
Seeing Ministry live is comparable to being on a battle field, and that’s the closest I ever want to get to going to war. I’m a fan, but if you’re not familiar with their music, let’s just say that it makes Nine Inch Nails (generally considered by the mainstream to be a rather challenging listen) sound like Ace of Base by comparison. While there are many concert clips in Fix, the music really takes a back seat here, as fairly often there is less than a minute of music featured in each of over a dozen or so songs. That it seems like much more is testament to the music’s immense, battering-ram-to-the face emotional impact. Last but not least, every second of the video footage is pristine High Def quality and scattered shots of the tour bus travelling through a gorgeous open dessert landscape or along the shore of some unnamed locale stands in sharp contrast to multiple scenes of Al tying off and looking for “a good vein” so he can fix while telling the camera that what he’s doing isn’t any worse than getting drunk. Freel also switches back and forth between color and black & white stock, to great artistic effect. You can’t miss this film.
Unrated for adult content that includes sex, nudity, adult language and blatant drug use, Fix is definitely not for children (say 15 and over is a safe guideline). Visit Fix The Ministry Movie Dot Com for more information on Fix and to find a screening in your area.
The 1981 comedy Arthur, starring the late Dudley Moore and the even later Sir John Gielgud, is a movie that most people recall so fondly that it’s become a bit of a celluloid sacred cow. In this now 30 year-old film, Moore played the titular character; a lovable, billionaire playboy / drunk, against Gielgud’s role as Arthur’s staid butler, Hobson; an Oscar-winning performance that was memorable for Gielgud’s many droll one-liners that continually upstaged every scene he and Moore shared. The vibrant, on-screen chemistry created by these two actors has understandably inspired a warm-fuzzy feeling in the memories of Arthur fans, and there’s nothing wrong with that. What’s interesting is the pre-emptive “Don’t Fuck With Arthur” backlash that seems to be swirling about the Internet in anticipation of an Arthurremake, starring comedic actor Russell Brand and screen legend Helen Mirren (directed by Jason Winer, due in theaters tomorrow). As if casting Brand – an actor famous for his hilarious portrayal of an out of control, licentious, alcoholic rock star – as Arthur and Helen Mirren – Dame Helen Mirren, I might add – as a female version of Hobson is anything but inspired casting. Having attended a press screening of Arthurlast night, please let me assuage your fears that it might take a cinematic dump on your kind regard for its predecessor. While undeniably a vehicle driven by Russell Brand’s showcase performance (because, let’s get real; the guy is a superstar in training), Arthuris a charming update on its source material that’s laugh out loud hilarious pretty much from beginning to end.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the plot of Arthur remains faithful to the original: Arthur is a perpetual Man-child, sworn to fun and debauchery and able to bankroll his endless adolescence thanks to a seemingly limitless income from the family business, Bach Worldwide. When Arthur’s outrageous shenanigans (crashing his ‘Bat Mobile’ hot rod into the Wall Street Bull) land him in jail, threatening to besmirch the company’s reputation among its investors, his mother, who runs the business with an iron fist, decides it’s time to tame him down. Through marriage to one of her ambitious young employees, Susan Johnson (Jennifer Garner), she aims to rein-in Arthur’s irresponsible behavior and keep the family name out of the tabloid headlines. The catch, of course, is that on the cusp of his engagement to Susan, Arthur meets “the woman of his dreams” in a NYC tour guide named Naomi (Greta Gerwig in a role made for her). If you’ve ever seen a Hollywood movie, you can figure out the rest of the plot for yourself.
The acting in Arthur is one of its high points, with lots of memorable supporting characters that help to flesh out the rather simple plot. Helen Mirren is fantastic as Arthur’s “Nanny” Hobson. Her and Arthur’s interactions obviously include a lot of improvisation (one of Brand’s great talents honed in his stand up comedy act) and their chemistry, as in the original, is right on. In the original Arthur, Susan (played by Jill Eikenberry) is a very sweet and beautiful socialite whom Arthur simply does not love. In the new version, Susan is a calculating and manipulative career woman whose ambition to control Arthur’s family business is all–consuming. She’s determined that Arthur marry her, whether he likes it or not – and her bullying, borderline-psycho father (Nick Nolte) is equally determined that his daughter get what she wants. Here, both Garner and Nolte create worthwhile, Love-to-hate characters out of fairly one-note roles. But it’s most rewarding to see an appealing actress like Greta Gerwig shine as Naomi, as she plays so well off of Brand’s improvisational, physical performance. After having suffered through the thoroughly unpleasent 2010 film Greenberg, (which is, seriously, one of the most dreadfully awful indie films ever made) in which she played the only likeable character, I hope she will become known for many other good roles. The Worley Gig Gives Arthur Four out of Five Stars.
