The Danny Elfman riff is especially priceless.

[via College Humor]

Did any of you know that they had made a documentary about Stephen Merritt of The Magnetic Fields?

Yeah, me neither – but it looks like it will be a great character study about a wonderful songwriter. I’ll definitely be plunking down the cash to see this when it comes around. Unfortunately, for us in the here and now, the only upcoming screenings listed are at SXSW and a sneak peek in San Francisco on February 28th, 2010.

I finally make it to NYC for the first time in September and now I need to find a way to get back straightaway for this Tim Burton exhibit from November 22nd – April 26th. The samples shown in the interview look incredible.

New York Mag has a short show preview and a slideshow you can check out on their site.

Burton recently told New York (the interview is forthcoming in the magazine). “It’s like opening up an old closet or something — like ‘Oh! What’s all this crap?’” Old crap it is not [...].

Below is a MoMA teaser spot and then interview with Tim Burton to promote the retrospective. Enjoy.

Francis Ford Coppola was in town last week to take in the reactions to his new film “Tetro” at a packed house of film buffs as part of the Seattle International Film Festival.

That's Mr. Coppola in the middle. Can't you tell?

While the movie was a gorgeous black and white masterwork of cinematography, sound, and character, the most interesting part of the evening came at the end of the show when Coppola and his his young start Alden Ehrenreich went onstage to answer audience questions. When Ehrenreich was asked about what it was like to work with Coppola, he spoke about Francis allowing the actors (and the entire staff) a space for play throughout rehearsal and even during shooting.

It was clear through both their answers that Francis values the creativity of his artists, that he is a true collaborator, interested more in getting the best from his team than in getting drones to execute his vision.

Alden told about how playful rehearsals were for the 2 weeks prior to filming, how they were encouraged to go off-script, and how it all culminated in a masquerade ball prior to shooting. Everyone attending the ball came in character, wearing masquerade garb, and carrying note cards with assignments from Coppola, small tasks to complete throughout the night’s festivities. While neither Francis or Alden got into specifics, apparently this was one wild party with lots going. People were disappearing into corners, fights were breaking out, and Francis was shooting everything he could get the whole time. When the cast got into shooting though, these sorts of exercise allowed actors the freedom to tell Coppola, “you know what? I don’t think my character would react as happily to such and such” and Coppola could let his actors respond spontaneously to what they were feeling because they’d worked together to develop the characters and film.

I had never heard of acting exercises such as this, although I’m no actor so it could be quite common for all I know. What I do know, however, is that I’d love to check out the tape from that night and that I left with far more respect for what Coppola is doing in film. Here’s to hoping we see a lot more films from him of this quality.

Does anybody know about Coppola’s process or have any pointers on where I can find about what happens behind the scenes on a Coppola set? Come on, give me the dirt!

As a child growing up watching a dominant Mike Tyson but listening to my dad tell stories about his hero Muhammad Ali, this is something I’ve got to see. It would be especially fascinating to make it a double feature night with the new “Tyson” movie. We’ll call it “A Study in Contrasts” just so we can seem smart while watching people pound each other’s heads in.

Come on, you know I had to post this one! Thankfully, it looks beautifully composed, dark, and edgy with that Neil Gaiman meets “City of Lost Children” meets “Dark City” vibe. According to the trailer website:

Franklyn is set between the parallel worlds of contemporary London and the futuristic metropolis of Meanwhile City, and weaves a tale of four souls, whose lives are intertwined by fate, romance and tragedy. As these worlds collide, a single bullet determines the destiny of these four characters.

The animation style is languid, drawing attention only to single actions. It’s an effect that is difficult to achieve in film and rarely achieved in animation. Looks interesting.

[via Coudal]

Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut features Philip Seymour Hoffman and an all-star cast in a film which looks labyrinthine and quirky. High hopes I tell you. High hopes. According to imdb.com, It looks like we’ll have a limited US release of the film October 24th.

And, just as a friendly literary reminder, here is the definition of synecdoche. You can now go back to being the lead actor in your own life play.

[via coudal]

Lustful maid vs. silly zombies. Chainsaw massacre! Best thing I’ve seen all day.

A cute short from Hillman Curtis about two friends and an exercise to bring them closer. Does it work?

[Via Coudal Partners]