Hey, home skillet, it's Morgan Freeman here (the one from The Bone Collector, or was it Training Day...or was it Antwone Fisher....?). Wait'll ya get a load of this doodle that can't be undid...the new Diablo Cody screenplay, "leaked," courtesy of the kool kats at Somethiing Awful.

Read more from the leaked screenplay of Diablo Cody's Quotey.

Ever read something on Reverse Shot that made your blood boil? Well, next time that happens, exorcise your rage: head here, type in our URL and select your weapon of choice...

To: Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting
Cc: City Council Committee on Culture, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations

We, the undersigned, believe that the new rules currently under consideration for Film Permits (Chapter 9, Title 43 of the City Rules of New York) will have an irrevocable impact on independent filmmakers and photographers and their ability to engage in creative work in New York.

The proposed regulations would not only jeopardize the activities of artists, but of hobbyists and tourists, as well as commercial practitioners. Furthermore, we believe these new restrictions will have far reaching impact on the tourism industry and cultural economy of New York. With limitations placed on the kind of work that can be made, the commercial galleries, museums, and theaters that present the work, as well the film processing labs and rental companies that service the production of such work would lose considerable business.

The right to photograph in public space is established by the First Amendment, which states that, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble." These rights are not the City's possession to take away, or to restrict to the point where such free expression is rendered impossible. The impact on public space of the types of activities you propose to regulate are so minimal that requiring permits is an undue burden towards exercising First Amendment rights. Furthermore, one cannot regulate an art form or activity by negating its very premise. The proposed rules, in refusing to recognize the spontaneity that is at the core of street-based filmmaking and photography, are untenable for that reason alone.

Because there was virtually no public notice about the proposals, many advocacy groups, photographers, and filmmakers did not know about the rules or the opportunity to file objections. We therefore call upon the city to dismiss these regulations altogether, and hold a new public hearing so that the communities that will be most impacted have an opportunitiy to meaningfully input into the shaping of new and constructive policies.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

GO HERE.

“The glue-sniffer's Jean-Luc Godard returns: enfant no more but terrible still” —J. Hoberman, Village Voice, September 1999

Since 1999, Korine has grown even [physically] older it seems. We can’t say we’re exactly looking forward to the boy’s new film, Mister Lonely, which concerns “a Michael Jackson impersonator who lives alone in Paris and performs on the streets to make ends meet. At a performance in a retirement home, Michael falls for a beautiful Marilyn Monroe look-alike who suggests he move to a commune of impersonators in the Scottish Highlands.” But we are rather thrilled to welcome the one-time Kids scribe (who then unleashed Gummo on a frighteningly impressionable cinephilic youth culture) back into our circle of disregard.



So, for a Thursday treat, here’s a sampling of the erstwhile wunderkind’s ruminations direct from the press kit of his new film.

-“I wanted to create an atmosphere where watching a Buckwheat impersonator ride a large pig would seem like a normal and everyday thing.”

-“I always liked the trick David Blaine did with pulling off the head of a live chicken then reattaching it. I thought it would be great to see a priest in the jungle rip off the head of a live chicken in front of a bunch of children then throw it back on and watch it run away.”

-“I had this other story with the nuns in the jungle. How is that connected to the story of Michael and the impersonator commune? The two stories don’t really intersect in a formal way, it’s more in service of allegory and poetic punctuation.”

-“We actually searched a quarter of the globe to find two real nuns to do that skydive. But then, once I found them, they didn’t want to be in the movie saying they were busy saving souls. So I actually ended up casting actresses that skydive. All the nuns in the movie, except for the two brought in to skydive, were part of my mom’s circle of friends that live in the outskirts of the jungle, Panamanians or ex-pats who moved there.”

-“I specifically wrote Paris into the script because I lived in Paris for a while. During that time, I only left my apartment four times. My teeth started falling out. One day I had six croque-monsieurs (French style grilled cheese sandwiches). Shooting in Paris just made sense to me.”

-“I guess all my movies have certain things in common. I know there’s an emotional core, maybe my sense of humor and the esthetic connection to the film.”

-“I just wasn’t interested anymore in making movies and writing. I went to a place where I didn’t know anyone and basically became a ghost. Somehow I started to slowly build myself back up. I started to reattach myself and started to laugh again, started to understand things and feel again. One day I saw a small woman walking her invisible dog down the road. I asked her what she was doing. She told me it was time to make the movie. I took her word for it and now I am here.”

From a recent stop on the "Straight Talk Express" tour:

Another man — wondering if an attack on Iran is in the works — wanted to know when America is going to “send an air mail message to Tehran.”

McCain began his answer by changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song. “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,” he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann. “Iran is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. That alone should concern us but now they are trying for nuclear capabilities. I totally support the President when he says we will not allow Iran to destroy Israel.”

Sweet. To wash that down with some hearty liberal LOLs (while we still can), check out the Fox News Kurt Vonnegut obituary that's been circulating the interwebs for a few days. There's more levels of irony in this short video than easily counted.