Steven Soderbergh’s four-and-a-half-hour film Che, starring Benicio del Toro as famed revolutionary Che Guevara, opens today. Much of the two-part film involves Guevara and his fellow rebels marching, fighting and training in the jungles of Cuba and Bolivia. It proves oddly reminiscent of this clip, which probably isn’t what Soderbergh and del Toro had in mind:
Self-deprecating comedian turned serious filmmaker Woody Allen gave a present to all the fans who miss the effortless hilarity of his “early, funny” persona. The New York Times presents “Excerpts From a Spanish Diary,” Allen’s tongue-in-cheek account of the production of his latest film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which stars Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Penelope Cruz and Oscar-winner Javier Bardem. It’s a throwback to Allen’s vintage gems of prose humor like “Remembering Needleman,” and here are two particularly amusing entries:
June 15: Work finally under way. Shot a torrid love scene today between Scarlett and Javier. If this were a scant few years ago, I would have played Javier’s part. When I mentioned that to Scarlett, she said, “Uh-huh,” with an enigmatic intonation. Scarlett came late to the set. I lectured her rather sternly, explaining I do not tolerate tardiness from my cast. She listened respectfully, although as I spoke I thought I noticed her turning up her iPod.
June 30: Dailies are looking good, and while Javier’s idea to add a massive Martian invasion scene complete with a thousand costumed extras and elaborate flying saucers is not a very good one, I will shoot it to make him happy and cut it in the editing room.
Given Allen’s tendency to play his heavy dramas with a painfully straight face, I’m enormously heartened by both the sensuality of the film and the laughs of the essay. It makes me want to ask him, “Now was that so hard?”
Victor Bello/TWC 2008
Is this an April Fools joke?
From the New York Times:
Woody Allen has sued a clothing maker and retailer, American Apparel, for $10 million, saying it used his image without permission on billboards.
Last May, American Apparel used an image of Mr. Allen from a film on billboards in New York and Hollywood, he said in the complaint.
Seriously?
How did a company whose ads look like this end up using a pictures a guy who looks like this?
