Andrew O'Hehir at Salon gives the film a middling review, but then sits down for an interesting Q&A with Levine:

For me, a lot of it was informed by the music. We had the opportunity to listen to "Ready to Die" [by Notorious B.I.G.] or "Nevermind" [by Nirvana] or "Illmatic" [by Nas] or the first Weezer album. All this great music was coming out then. Especially the hip-hop — that was what I connected to on a visceral, personal level. The music you're listening to really determines a lot about your memories.

Where are they now, musically speaking? Dead, destroyed by Jay-Z, dead, and just as sex-deprived as poor Luke. Yeah, okay, maybe it was time to go there.

[Salon]

[NYT]

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon likes it:

Genre-film buffs and Hollywood insiders will study it avidly, and it could do decent late-summer, art-house business. When the inevitable English-language version follows, it will provoke a trivia question (and one I can't answer, at least not without more Internet spelunking than I'm willing to do right now): Name other American movies inspired by foreign-language films based on American novels.

Yeah, but I'm fairly certain Fassbindger once set Henry James's The Ambassadors in an East Berlin S&M club.

Tell No One opens at the Angelika Film Center and City Cinemas on July 2.

[Salon]
[Tell No One website]

[via Neatorama]

"The cast has so far seen most of the series' final episodes, which will air in (sigh!) 2009. 'There's one episode where everything is explained and I had to read it three times,' Park said. 'I had to sit down with [executive producer] Ron Moore and he had to break it down.'

"Among other tidbits (the interview with Park will run here on July 20), Park also confirmed the presence of a child actor on set—one of the toddlers who plays her character Sharon 'Athena' Agathon's daughter, the Cylon-human offspring Hera." [LAT]

The documentary by Mr. Gibney, who also made “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Taxi to the Dark Side,” does not attempt to work around Thompson’s endless self-consciousness but uses it as leverage instead. Produced by Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, and narrated by the actor Johnny Depp, “Gonzo” mirrors the subjectivity and immersion of the journalism Thompson and his trusty arsenal of psychoactive agents perpetrated in Rolling Stone and elsewhere. Mr. Gibney eschews narrative conventions and switches point of view on a dime, creating a prism of interviews and episodes that gradually assembles into a compelling portrait [...]

“I would argue that Hunter and Tom Wolfe are the two most original voices to come out of journalism in the last century, and it’s no coincidence that they both worked for Jann Wenner at Rolling Stone,” Mr. Carter said. “No one else was willing to push it that way, to take those risks.” Mr. Gibney’s documentary plays appropriate tribute by restricting its gaze to the nascent Thompson of the ’60s and early ’70s. By the time most of America knew who Thompson was, he was pretty much washed up, having gradually been overtaken by his own legend, with steady assists from the bottle, the drugs and his coven of enablers.

August men line up to pay their respects in the documentary — Patrick J. Buchanan, George McGovern, Jimmy Buffett, Gary Hart and Timothy Crouse, the author of the campaign memoir “The Boys on the Bus” — as do the women he loved. Both his first wife, Sandy, and second wife, Anita, testify to his courage and courtliness, in between pointing out that he could be mean as a snake and far less predictable. He broke through by covering a biker gang from the inside — he “rode with the Angels,” as Mr. Wolfe puts it in the film — and took a serious beat-down on the way out. Journalism, as practiced by Thompson, was not something for sissies. [NYT]

The documentary version, which came out last year, tells the story of Burt and Linda (pictured above, with Klores on left), a New York couple who are straight up crazy. Why? Because Burt was so in love with Linda, he hired goons to throw acid in her face after she broke up with him. And she married him anyways! And they're both still together and acting crazy to this day! I imagine the fictional version can't be any crazier than the real story. Which was—as advertised—crazy. Trailer for the Klores documentary is below:

[Variety. Pic via NY Mag]

Chris Coleson of Richmond, VA ate mostly McDonalds' salads and wraps for six months to drop his gut.

Mr. Coleson has not spoken with the fast feeder but said that people on the street ask him if he was inspired by Subway pitchman Mr. Fogle. (He's become something of a local celebrity after a couple of newspaper articles, including a front-page profile in the Richmond-Times Dispatch.) He said the idea was born out of his wife's skepticism at his ability to lose weight.

"I told her I could lose weight eating anywhere," he said. "I told her I could do it eating at McDonald's."

But!

Far from signing him as its next spokesman, McDonald's avoided attaching importance to Mr. Coleson's accomplishment. "There have been numerous success stories like this one, where consumers elected to follow a responsible diet with adequate exercise and incorporated McDonald's food in a very positive way," said McDonald's USA spokeswoman Danya Proud. "We continue to work on helping people understand how to strike the right balance between diet and physical activity."

Dr. Christine Gerbstadt, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, called Mr. Coleson's plan of 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day a "starvation diet."

Ridiculous. So what if it is a starvation diet? That shouldn't dissuade the company from sending Coleson a fat check and sticking him in a couple of commercials. How many other huge weight losers who eat exclusively at your restaurant do you think are going to come along, McD's? Smarten up!

We really don't need another Jared, though. GOD.

[Ad Age, pic via InRich.com]

Bale rubbished the speculation in an interview with Total Film, saying: "It's not for me to tell anybody or to pretend to have insights beyond what I absolutely know, but my instincts are that the idea Heath was disturbed by playing The Joker is ridiculous.

"Heath was somebody who, like myself, acted for that immersion in a character. It's not an unusual thing. And from working with him and knowing him, I don't think that was unusual for him at all." [DigitalSpy via OhNoTheyDidn't]

When he noticed who the passenger was that was exiting the car, [redacted] said that he became nervous and turned his head and eyes to the ground as Weinstein approached the entrance to the building. Suddenly he noticed that weinstein's steps had ceased. he looked up to find Weinstein standing there just staring at him.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I work for you. I'm an intern."

"Oh yeah. Well what's your name?"

"My name is [redacted] sir."

"Really? Well guess what [redacted]? from now on I'm going to call you Fuckface."

And with that, weinstein turned and walked into the building. But throughout the course of [redacted]'s remaining time interning at Miramax, Weinstein was true to his word.

"For the rest of the time that I was there, Harvey called me Fuckface. I would pass him in the hall and he'd say 'what's going on Fuckface?' Once I was in the elevator and he stepped on with other people and he introduced me to everyone with him as Fuckface."

[Cajun Boy In The City]

Now the Weinstein Company—the mini-studio launched by the brothers after they fell out with Disney—hasn't been a complete failure. Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse (widely believed to be their biggest flop) might actually eke out a profit over its entire life. There's some buzz for at least two coming productions: Nine, Weinstein's film version of the Tony-winning musical, and Stephen Daldry's The Reader, a holocaust-guilt tale. And Project Runway—which recently wrapped up its fourth season—is of course a big hit.

Let's also stipulate that the rumor of the impending crunch is vague. The mini-studio is privately held which means there's no easy way of knowing the terms on which the Weinsteins raised funds in 2005. Some of the tittle-tattle may be merely wishful thinking; most of the Hollywood establishment wishes the worst for Harvey Weinstein; the mini-studio frontman has been counted out before, and has rebounded. Says one insider: "He comes back like a cockroach."

But some kind of financial pressure is entirely plausible. The Weinsteins—despite their reputation as two of the most successful film producers of the last 20 years—have surprisingly meager personal resources; when running Miramax they made more money for Disney than they ever did for themselves, and they remain heavily dependent on outside investors.

Those backers aren't happy. Already last year there were rumblings that the Weinstein Company had lost the confidence of shareholders such as Tarak Ben Ammar, the Tunisian dealmaker. Fortune's Tim Arango reported then that the Weinstein Co. was missing its financial targets; he said shareholders were putting pressure on Weinstein to focus on movie making rather than pursuing his ambition to be an all-round media mogul with investments in internet companies such as A Small World, the briefly fashionable social network.

So what? The Weinsteins' $1bn should cover them for a few more years. But there's a problem. Investors likely have the ability as well as the inclination to demand some of their money back. One assumes that the $420m the Weinsteins raised by selling 49% of their company is committed: that the founders are under no obligation to buy back the shares, though that's not unheard of.

The remainder of the Weinsteins' fund was in the form of debt, however. A loan is often subject to covenants, such as the maintenance of a certain amount of cash flow, and a repayment schedule. For instance, the Weinstein Co. projected it would reach profitability this year; if that's not the case, the lenders might have reserved the right to demand repayment.

Even in the heyday of Weinstein's Miramax—when he produced Acadamy Award winners such as The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love and Good Will Hunting—Harvey Weinstein was known as one of the most unpleasant negotiators in the entertainment business. (See the clip from HBO's Entourage, left, for a lightly fictionalized rendering of his famously titanic rage.) If his funding is really as insecure as suggested, the irascible film producer at least have better reason to be quite so bad-tempered.

Disclosure: Harvey Weinstein used to live in the apartment above me, and once cornered me at the local deli to complain about a post on Defamer about his girlfriend, designer Georgina Chapman. Fine to criticize Brad Pitt, he said. "He gets $20m a picture." But Chapman? "She's a civilian." But he waited until I had bought my strawberry milk—and he never yelled.

http://view.break.com/513310 - Watch more free videos

[Cinematical]

Good thing Muscletech's current lineup is all-natural:

[Steroids are bad. Super Squats are good!]

"Then Raimi officially threw his hat in the ring again: 'I love Spider-Man. I'm hoping I'm well rested enough to embrace it and I'm hoping Sony wants me to do it. If all of those things come together, I would love to do it. There are a lot of unknowns about the future.'

"Raimi doesn't envision changing up his cast. 'I'd hate to re-cast anybody in the future, I can't imagine that.'" [GetTheBigPicture]

And, no, I don't want to see Kristen Dunst replaced!

"Bushnell was an engineering student who went from fixing broken pinball machines to launching the Atari Corporation in 1972 (a reference to a check-like position in Go, one of Nolan’s favorite games) where he created Pong, which is often regarded as the world’s first video arcade game (which is actually untrue, as Computer Space launched a year earlier). A home version was released in 1974 and took the world by storm. Nolan sold the company to Warner Communications for a mere $28 million, to get the capital to release the Atari 2600, credited with popularizing the use cartridge based console video game systems. By 1979, the 2600 was the best-selling Christmas gift. By 1983, the company had sold over 8 million units. Nolan also created Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre (later known as just Chuck E. Cheese)." [SlashFilm via OhNoTheyDidn't]

Before television viewers could get a closer look at what was real and what was not, the camera moved to a wide angle and stayed that way until Mr. Rogen and Mr. Franco left the stage, The Associated Press reported. It was an awkward moment that made some in the audience laugh. Backstage, Mr. Franco told The Associated Press that MTV had put them up to the joke — supplying the script as well as the fake pot and joint — and then had a last-second change of heart.

So it seems that there are three possibilities:

1. Franco is telling the truth here; MTV put them up to it, then had a change of heart, but Rogen did it anyhow.

2. MTV told Rogen and Franco to say that the network had a change of heart, as a way to make the stunt seem more edgy, but not too edgy.

3. It was truly an off-the-cuff display of weed smoking, and Franco was kidding when he told the AP it was the network's idea.

Watch the video here again and again, and decide for yourself. At least we know that they weren't smoking salvia

[NYT].

Morty: I remember that you loved Sex and the City.
Janet: Oh my god, my life is SO Sex and the City!
Morty: Every girl in New York says that.
Janet: I know. But with me it's really true.
Morty: Every girl in New York says that.
Janet: What do you know? You hated that show.
Morty: Yeah. I think that Sex and the City is a modern, less realistic rip-off of "Laverne and Shirley," but without the monogrammed sweater.
Janet: That doesn't even make sense.
Morty: Of course it does: Two best friends become four. Lenny and Squiggy are now two gay guys. Bowling alleys and pizza parlors are replaced with Pastis and Soho House.
Janet: That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.
Morty: Come on, you know that if they had cable back then, there definitely would have been an episode where Carmine Ragusa's penis was so big, Shirley could barely put on her pants the next day.
Janet: Goodbye, Morty.

"Allison made it past the first date because I needed a hot companion for my company Christmas party. She was fun and sweet enough, but couldn't spell 'Louis Vuitton' if it wasn't written all over her handbag. And wallet. And shoes. Before I could even ask her about Sex and the City, Allison mentioned the words 'husband', 'pregnant', and 'why the hell are you calling me.':"

Morty: I don't know why you are so hostile to your ex that you haven't spoken to in seven years. Especially since it seems like you've done such a good job rebounding from our relationship.
Allison: I don't consider you my "ex," I consider you my "Y." As in "WHY did I ever go out with you?"
Morty: Funny.... Who said that, Carrie or Samantha?
Allison: Goodbye, Morty.
[HuffPo]

"People ask him to autograph rifles, but Eastwood is no Charlton Heston. A vegan, he was distressed to hear Hillary Rodham Clinton boast recently about bagging a bird. 'I was thinking: The poor duck, what the hell did she do that for? I don't go for hunting. I just don't like killing creatures. Unless they're trying to kill me. Then that would be fine.'"

He also envisions a Dirty Harry VI: "Harry is retired. He's standing in a stream, fly-fishing. He gets tired of using the pole — and BA-BOOM! Or Harry is retired and he chases bad guys with his walker? Maybe he owns a tavern. These guys come in and they won't pay their tab, so Harry reaches below the bar. Hey, guys, the next shot's on me . . ." [LAT]

[Pictured: True roid freak Gregg Valentino]

"At Gabriel’s, an Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side, Ms. Allen joined family and friends, including her son, Nick, 17; ex-husband, Kale Browne; manager, Joan Hyler; the poet Michael Lally and his son, Flynn, and friends Christy Zea and Frosty Montgomery.

"There was talk of whether Mr. Spielberg and George Lucas would make yet another Indy movie. 'George had been saying no,' Ms. Allen said with a poker face, 'but lately in the press, he doesn’t seem to be ruling it out.'

"In a lull between courses, she did her best to answer a barrage of questions about the movie: Where was it shot? (Los Angeles, mostly, she said.) Was the scene of a nuclear mushroom cloud made with government footage? (Hotly debated.) Was the motorcycle chase through the college library shot at Yale University? (Yes, Mr. Spielberg’s son studies there.)

"After dessert, 10-year-old Flynn looked up from his chocolate cake and offered Ms. Allen an unsolicited review of the film. 'The funny thing about the movie is that you punch him and then you kiss him,' he said.

“'Well, that’s love,' Ms. Allen said." [NYT]

It rocked much, much harder than I thought it would. I was truly afraid that Shia LaBeouf would ruin it. I don't like young men, period. I especially don't like young men who are challenging my old heros. But Shia actually plays a pretty interesting, funny character. And when he tries to push Indy into a corner, Indy gives him his awesome dead-pan, which amounts to, "C'mon, Kid, I could break you in half and you goddamn know it. Why not just behave yourself and learn something?" And Shia's "Mutt" is just obedient enough—and smart enough, recognizing that Indy is probably the best role model any boy or girl could have—to listen and not make the whole movie a stupid generational fight.

The whole Indy-as-role-model theme made me happy throughout the movie. It's not overdone, and Indy still does all his trademark slapstick falling, tripping, flat-on-his-ass stuff. But when Indy gives advice to this kid, I felt all teary. And then when his advice was stupid, I felt like, "Awesome movie!"

Indy is older, and it shows in the fight scenes, but it also shows that he knows how the fuck to fight. And his big punch-to-punch scene in this movie is the best he's had since he fought that huge German on the airfield in Raiders.

And... Marion Ravenwood. Karen Allen is just slightly underused in the main part of the movie. She's amazingly dreamy and beautiful, as ever, but she is mostly driving a car. Still her exchanges with Indy are so worthwhile, especially when they first see each other after 18 years. Indy's response is so priceless that I would have cried had I been drunk. But I caught the 3:00 p.m. show.

The ending is slightly hard to stomach. But, in general, this is a movie for fans that anyone should enjoy because it really is 2 hours of action. For fans, there were sneaky references to Star Wars and Raiders that you can chuckle about. I did.

Okay. Thanks for listening. That's just me. I'm not a critic.

Ian