speedy gonzalez & slowpoke rodriguez

A fast paced Mexican city mouse and a slow poke Mexican country mouse (who apparently craves more marijuana, listen to what he sings!) are at odds with a South of the Border gato in the 1962 Warner Bros cartoon short, “Mexican Boarders” (below).

Speedy Gonzalez is now apparently getting his own movie, featuring the voice of non other than George Lopez. I wonder if Slowpoke Rodriguez will have a role?

Lopez’ wife (and producer) seems to say no, quoting from The New York Times:

“We wanted to make sure that it was not the Speedy of the 1950s, the racist Speedy,” Ms Lopez told The Hollywood Reporter. In the new movie, she said, Speedy “comes from a family that works in a very meticulous setting, and he’s a little too fast for what they do.”

Also below, a rather shocking song by Pat Boone, inspired by the cartoon.

eug posted to movies on February 24, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

actualities | czech republic

A few minutes in the Czech Republic…

On a train (en route to Prague) and then in a car (searching for a museum).

eug posted to travel on February 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

berlinale @ 60

At the Brandenburg Gate tonight in Berlin, with a light snow falling on a cold night, the festival presented a screening of the restored “Metropolis” on a giant outdoor screen, offering archival footage of the first Berlinale 60 years ago for hundreds of people who stood in Pariser Platz to watch.

photo by eugene hernandez

eug posted to Film Festivals on February 12, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)

a sense of optimism?

Hello from Germany…

Maybe its just the jet lag talking, but—on a very cold night here in Berlin—the news of the return of New Yorker Films yesterday and now the launch of a new distribution company today from Paul Federbush and Laura Kim gave me a warm sense of optimism for getting indie, foreign and doc films into theaters.

Anyway, I’ve slept about 3 hours in the last 36, so I’ll stop there for now.

But, what do you think??

Tegel Airport in Berlin, this morning.
photos by eugene hernandez

eug posted to The Biz on February 10, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1)

the best of sundance: “blue valentine”

I’ve been to the Sundance Film Festival seventeen times now and Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine” is among the best movies I’ve ever seen at the festival. I make the case for the film in this week’s column at indieWIRE, listing the 10 best from Sundance 2010 (before diving into the Berlinale tomorrow).

Pictured: Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine.”
images courtesy sundance film festival

eug posted to movies on February 10, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0)