Shorts, 8/31.

We've got a lot of links over there on the right, so it's hardly a surprise that the writer behind at least one of them would be in New Orleans. If donating to the Red Cross seems too impersonal for you, think about offering a little support to day for night.

Screenwriter, and now, director - of The Exorcism of Emily Rose - and Christian Scott Derrickson:

In my opinion, the horror genre is a perfect genre for Christians to be involved with. I think the more compelling question is, Why do so many Christians find it odd that a Christian would be working in this genre? To me, this genre deals more overtly with the supernatural than any other genre, it tackles issues of good and evil more than any other genre, it distinguishes and articulates the essence of good and evil better than any other genre, and my feeling is that a lot of Christians are wary of this genre simply because it's unpleasant. The genre is not about making you feel good, it is about making you face your fears. And in my experience, that's something that a lot of Christians don't want to do.

Peter T Chattaway conducts the interview for Christianity Today. Via Opus.

At independentfilm.com, Patricia Freeman talks to Derrickson, writer Paul Harris Boardman and Laura Linney.

Blake at Cinema Strikes Back on Edwige Fenech: "She brought this very disturbing emotional core to her character... a tortured soul persona that gave her performances far more than a scream queen title... but as one of the best actresses of her time."

Lee Siegel on Greta Garbo for the New Republic: "Her so-called reclusiveness was really her assertion of dignity in the face of the studio's bottom-line depredations and celebrity's leveling blandishments." Would that even be allowed today? Also: "Garbo's evocation of sex had the most subversive connotation imaginable: It was no big deal."

The Reverse Shot team at indieWIRE - pretty much the whole team this time - presents "13 valuable lessons" learned over a long, hard summer.

In the New York Times:

• Mark Russell's piece on Empress Chung, "the first film to be released at the same time in North and South Korean movie theaters," is also a mini-history of the studio that draws The Simpsons and an assessment of the current state of Korean animation: not good, at least in terms of box office.

• Martin Scorsese's No Direction Home and its soundtrack have Jon Pareles revisiting Bob Dylan's early years.

• Dave Kehr on new DVDs. As for one of his assertions, Looker wonders what in the world he's on about.

• AO Scott on Games of Love and Chance: "[Director Abdellatif] Kechiche's interest in connecting France's classical literary heritage with its contemporary social reality is intriguing, and it has resulted, in this case, in a spirited and insightful comedy of manners." More from David Ng in the Village Voice.

• Ned Martel on William Eggleston in the Real World: "In this accomplished look at a storied career, [Eggleston] instructs - without words - how to see all that is hauntingly familiar." More from Ed Halter in the Voice.

Darwin's Nightmare is "terrifying nonfiction, a movie I've tried to shake but can't," writes Ray Pride at Movie City Indie. He points to Philippa Hawker's interview with director Hubert Sauper in the Age.

Nina Berman at Alternet: "Watching the film is like experiencing a slow burn: The pain is shocking at first, then you settle in and hope for relief. But relief never comes - it's impossible to watch Winter Soldier today without thinking about Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, which is why the distributors have chosen to release the film now."

John Levine at WSWS on Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire: "Among liberal opponents of the war in 2004, there developed a conception that an electoral defeat of Bush would end the militaristic trend in American foreign policy. To the extent that the filmmakers adopted this idea, they set limits on their own search for the deeper roots of the war within American society."

Doug Cummings: "Jun Ichikawa's Tony Takitani is an elegant little film, and one of the most emotionally resonant movies I've seen this year."

"On its own, Iqbal is a lovely little 'feelgood' film," writes Namrata Joshi in Outlook India. "But it's the cricket in it that's arousing much of the interest." Via signandsight.

Terrence Malick may write and direct Tree of Life; "The film's story outline has not yet been disclosed," though much of it will be shot in India, Nyay Bhushan in the Hollywood Reporter.

"Blade Runner's dystopic inversion of biblical creation illustrates an enduring distrust in both human and divine attempts to establish Eden." Alex Harley in the M/C Journal, via wood s lot.

Chiranjit Goswami at Not Coming to a Theater Near You: "Filmed after the stock market crash of 1987 and making its debut as the 1990s commenced and the Reagan-Era concluded, it seems relatively easy and reasonable to interpret Goodfellas as a condemnation of the Yuppie-endorsed greed that America enthusiastically embraced years before."

Reviews of The Brothers Grimm can't be too much fun for Terry Gilliam to read, but his troubles aren't stopping there. Jeffrey M Anderson has details at Mindjack.

At PopMatters, Simon Wood picks out four "LAuteurs," that is, directors who "stand as proof that commercialism and quality are not mutually exclusive." Also: Nikki Tranter hits the Lebowski Fest.

Grady Hendrix's quite enjoyed the live action Initial D.

Fashion will never get over Hitchcock, observes Laura Compton at the Culture Blog.

For those who love The Leopard: You'll want to read Javier Marías on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in the Threepenny Review. Via Rake's Progress.

Dirk Schulz considers the future of interactive TV for keyframe.org.

Starting in the late 80s, movie posters went bland. "Movie marketing people had a name for it that really said it all: Big Heads Floating in the Sky," explains Greg Stacy in the Orange County Weekly. Via Coudal Partners. And as posterwire.com reminds, posters could be exhilarating back in the day.

Online listening tip. There may be hope yet for Eyes on the Prize. Neda Ulaby reports for NPR. More from Steve Gallagher at Filmmaker.

Online viewing tip #1. The trailer for Good Night, and Good Luck. Via... well, everyone. Because it looks fantastic.

Online viewing tip #2. Diane Martel's video for Franz Ferdinand's "Do You Want To," a casual mingle through mid-to-late 20th century art clichés. Via Fimoculous.

Online viewing tip #3. Nick Cave, screenwriter. Quite a cast, too. The Proposition. Via David Lowery.

Posted by dwhudson at August 31, 2005 4:41 PM