Shorts, 5/12.

In a kind of smart, kind of kooky yet undeniably enjoyable piece for the National Interest, John C Hulsman and A Wess Mitchell argue that "given the present changes in the world's power structure," The Godfather "becomes a startlingly useful metaphor for the strategic problems of our times." Following the shooting of Vito Corleone, "Tom Hagen, Sonny and Michael approximate the three American foreign-policy schools of thought - liberal institutionalism, neoconservatism and realism - vying for control in today's disarranged world order." Via Andrew Sullivan.

"I realize I'm probably late to notice this newest, current collection of essays that the online film journal Film-Philosophy has collected and published about Claire Denis and Jean-Luc Nancy," writes Ryland Walker Knight. Not as late as I am.

"It's Monday night in the dimly lit Lagos neighborhood known as Winis, and the stars of Nollywood are out." So begins a five-part series for Esquire by Will Conners.

Robert B Ray's The ABCs of Classic Hollywood is "the best new film book I've encountered in a long while," writes Girish. Excerpts follow.

Maddy Costa profiles Stephen Daldry, currently "working on his film of Bernhard Schlink's novel The Reader, which has been adapted by his 'great friend and colleague,' David Hare. It is proving to be a testing experience. Kate Winslet turned down a starring role, because she was already lined up for the film Revolutionary Road, so Daldry started shooting last autumn with Nicole Kidman, only for her to drop out when she fell pregnant. Now Winslet is taking the role after all - but Daldry is losing his producers. Anthony Minghella died two months ago, and Sydney Pollack is seriously ill. Daldry, though, is maintaining a level head. 'People get really wound up about making movies. But it's just showbiz. We could all be doing something useful, like going to Darfur, so let's not get overwrought.'"

Also in the Guardian, John Patterson tells the story behind the making of Winter Soldier, its disappearance and reemergence: "When the movie was rereleased in the US in 2005 - partly in response to attempts, in the 2004 election, to smear John Kerry over his war record - a special screening was held, with the crew and the vets. 'We didn't realise that the theatre was also filled with Afghanistan and Iraq vets,' says [Barbara] Kopple. 'The Iraq guys got up and spoke with the Vietnam vets, and their stories were so similar, the cadences of their voices were exactly the same. It was remarkable.'"

The search for a definition of "cinematic" and Maya Deren's Ritual in Transfigured Time get Thom Ryan thinking, "I wonder, if I released all expectations on cinema, and gave up the need to interpret it according to the logic of professionally taught disciplines, would that make experiencing it more fascinating, more enjoyable than it is already?"

"Five Feuilletons on Sergei Eisenstein," by Viktor Shklovsky in Context, translated by Adam Siegel and via wood s lot.

Variety's Michael Fleming reports on Steven Spielberg's plans. First up will be Tintin, shooting in the fall. Then, an Abraham Lincoln biopic "informed by" Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals: The Genius of Abraham Lincoln and starring Liam Neeson. Thanks to the writers' strike, The Trial of the Chicago Seven, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, is on hold.

"I have absolutely no involvement with this production, nor will I ever be involved." Richard Kelly on that sequel to Donnie Darko, via Yair Raveh.

For the Los Angeles Times, Mike Russell visits the set of Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight, an adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's novel "about benevolent vampires who struggle with their blood lust in much the same way teens struggle with their surging hormones." And there's an accompanying CulturePulp: "Vampires on the Carpet."

Also, Mark Olsen: "I for India is a surprisingly delicate, quietly emotional documentary look at the experiences of one Indian family that immigrated to England in the 1960s."

At 24 Frames a Second, Robert C Cumbow explains why, for his money, Ben Affleck's Gone Baby Gone is the best film of 2007.

"Oh, to be young and gifted," sighs Michael Tully at Hammer to Nail. "Mike Brune, star of Alex Orr's outrageously graphic satire Blood Car, proves that his talent isn't relegated to acting. Brune's debut as a writer/director combines a Haneke-esque tension with a dose of off-kilter humor to produce The Adventure, a work that can be most effectively (albeit awkwardly) described as an existentialist mystery/comedy/thriller."

"Trends rarely last longer than 4-5 years, so by that measurement this recent burst of online DIY activity is finished. By my estimation, this trend in film culture and filmmaking encompassed the period spanning roughly from 2002 - 2007, give or take." Jamie Stuart, in an entry in Stream that's not quite the downer it may seem at first.

Jada Yuan was at that Time 100 thing the other night for Vulture. "And though we'd already heard six speakers that night, including John McCain, [Robert] Downey Jr's speech was the only one that truly moved us. So we transcribed the entire thing."

In the New York Times Magazine, Deborah Solomon chats with director Jay Roach about Recount, airing on HBO on May 25 and 26.

Phil Nugent on Standard Operating Procedure: "On the simplest level, [Errol Morris is] using his recreations (bodies twisted, attacks dogs slavering at the camera in slow motion) and his music (by Danny Elfman) and his kicky special effects to turn this story into a horror movie. On the more cerebral, and frankly more offensive level, he's playing illusion vs reality games with the photos from Abu Ghraib."

Sean Axmaker, who talked with Garth Jennings about Son of Rambow for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, runs the complete interview at his own site.

In the Observer, Elizabeth Day profiles the Reel Geezers and talks with Mathieu Amalric. Also, Philip French on Dean Martin and Honeydripper.

Lillian Ross chats with David Mamet for the New Yorker; for a longer talk, listen to Elvis Mitchell's. And at Hollywood Bitchslap, Peter Sobczynski talks with Chiwetel Ejiofor about Redbelt.

"Five science fiction movies that get the science right." A list from Michael Marshall in New Scientist via the cinetrix.

"Michel Gondry Entertained For Days By New Cardboard Box." The Onion, via the Playlist.

Online listening tip. John Turturro and Max Casella talk Beckett and Endgame on the Leonard Lopate Show.

Online viewing tip #1. Via Fimoculous, the trailer for Visioneers.

Online viewing tip #2. At the SpoutBlog, Karina Longworth pieces together Lulu in Berlin, Richard Leacock's clip-sprinkled 1984 interview with the great Louise Brooks.

Online viewing tips. At Screengrab, Andrew Osborne presents five reasons why "CGI Must Die."

Posted by dwhudson at May 12, 2008 12:03 PM