Author Archives: Marya E. Gates
Auteur of the Week: Sofia Coppola
My first experience with Sofia Coppola was when I was about 15 or 16 I think, when I rented The Virgin Suicides. When the film was first in theaters I was really into Josh Hartnett, and I remember being on the 8th grade trip to the Hilton in Reno and seeing that it was playing at the casino’s theater, but because the film was rated R and I was only 13 at the time I couldn’t go see it. Then I forgot about the film for a few years before renting it. I remember thinking it was one of the darkest films I’d seen at that point and also one of the films with the strongest point-of-view from its director. Since then I’ve kind of had a love/hate relationship with Coppola. Regardless, she has maintained her strong point-of-view in all of her films. I’ve yet to see her most recent film, Somewhere, but it has received wide-critical praise so far, including winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend, becoming the first American woman to win it.
Movie Quote of the Day – Inventing The Abbotts, 1997 (dir. Pat O’Connor)
Helen Holt: There’s different kinds of love. Some people you love no matter what. And others you love if the situation is right. To me, the best kind of love is the “no matter what” kind.
Oscar Vault Monday – Beauty and the Beast, 1991 (dir. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise)
Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney movie I 100% remember watching in theaters. I was probably about five years old at the time and I loved it to death. It was also the first year I can remember watching the Academy Awards. I wanted it to win Best Picture SO BADLY. At the time, I had no idea that it was the first animated film to be nominated for the award, nor did I really understand what an honor an Academy Award was for a film. My mom had the sad job of informing me that it was most likely going to lose to The Silence of the Lambs, a film that I most definitely had not seen at the time. Now, however, it’s the only other film nominated that year that I’ve seen. I can see why it won, such strong performances, a perfect genre flick (and a history maker in itself, only one of three films ever to win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress), but I still wanted, and to some extent, still wish that Beauty and the Beast had won the award. It was joined earlier this year by Up as an animated film competing for the top prize. Hopefully, as this awards season comes to a close, those films will be joined by Toy Story 3 (and as one of the best reviewed films of the year, it has a fighting chance of actually winning). Also nominated in 1991 were Bugsy, Jfk, The Prince of Tides and winner The Silence of the Lambs. On top of being nominated for Best Picture, the film was up for five more, bringing the total to six Academy Award nominations, winning two: Best Sound, Best Song – Belle, Best Song – Be Our Guest, Best Song – Beauty and the Beast (won) and Best Score (won).
Movie Quote of the Day – The Full Monty, 1997 (dir. Peter Cattaneo)
Dave: Anti-wrinkle cream there may be, but anti-fat-bastard cream there is not.
Movie Quote of the Day – I ♥ Huckabees, 2004 (dir. David O. Russell)
Dawn Campbell: There’s glass between us. You can’t deal with my infinite nature can you?
Brad Stand: That is so not true. Wait, what does that even mean?
Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere” wins top Venice prize
Here’s the story off of AP:
Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, a story about an actor dealing with the emptiness of his life thanks to his child, won the top Golden Lion prize at the Venice film festival Saturday.
Director Quentin Tarantino headed the jury which unanimously chose Coppola’s film as the best movie at the 11-day annual festival.
“This film enchanted us from its first screening,” Tarantino said.
Coppola has described the film as a “portrait of today’s L.A.” Somewhere tells the story of a movie star, played by Stephen Dorff, who comes to see the emptiness of his existence through the eyes of his 11-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning.
With Somewhere, Coppola, who herself grew up in the world of film thanks to her father, director Francis Ford Coppola, lampoons Hollywood’s star treatment.
I so cannot wait to see this film. It’s set to open on December 22nd.
Movie Quote of the Day – Back To The Future, 1985 (dir. Robert Zemeckis)
George McFly: Hey, you! Get your damn hands off her!
Movie Quote of the Day – Clerks., 1994 (dir. Kevin Smith)
Randal: This job would be great if it wasn’t for the fucking customers.
Movie Quote of the Day – Kindergarten Cop, 1990 (dir. Ivan Reitman)
Joyce: You know, kindergarten is like the ocean. You don’t want to turn your back on it.
Off The Radar – Robert Redford’s “The Conspirator”
Somehow this film has stayed completely off my radar but thanks to this post by Scott Feinberg, it is now not only on my radar, but quickly jumping to the top of my list of films I cannot wait to see. I’ve seen several of the other films Robert Redford has directed (not to mention acted in) and I love his style. The cast list reads like a dream: Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Jonathan Groff, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Johnny Simmons, Kevin Kline and Toby Kebbell.
Synopsis and more pictures after the cut.
the diary of a film history fanatic 