Screening Gotham: What I Missed Edition

Some of the more overlooked movie news of note from the last few days around New York:

--Just when I thought the DVD gods had provided the bounty I had been craving for 2007, along comes Army Archerd with news of a truly profound bonus: William Friedkin's impossibly wretched Al Pacino-in-leather, gay-smacking NYC cop "thriller" Cruising will finally find its way to video shelves this fall -- after a premiere at Cannes. Planned special features include a short doc on the film's controversial 1980 release and scintillating feature commentary by Tim Hardaway.

--On the Tribeca Film Festival Web site, Jesus Camp filmmakers Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing have been keeping a diary of their stint as Oscar nominees. Featured this week: A hex on global warming and a visit with an "Oscar angel" named Igor.

--Finally! The Inland Empire debate has reached the hallowed pages of Esquire, where the watch- and cologne-buying rank-and-file can baffle itself deciding whether to take Nathan Lee's word for it ("Far better suited to home viewing than the big screen, its deepest insight is that cinema as a collective experience is obsolete.") or to hedge their bets with Mike D'Angelo ("[T]here's simply no excuse, apart from frugality or aesthetic disinterest, for an artist of Lynch's stature to make a movie that looks as hideous as this."). Hint: D'Angelo might be onto something. (Via The House Next Door)

--In fairness, the folks at New Line are hardly the first guys to be accused of ripping off Lou Reed, though it's clearly harder to mask derivative poster art without the benefit of a key change. (Via Risky Biz)

Posted at February 21, 2007 9:11 AM