The News: All-Positive Friday!

By S.T. VanAirsdale

As per tradition, some of today's more upbeat movie news of note from around New York:

--If you only read only one other item online today, make it David Carr's report of his recent encounter with Paul Thomas Anderson. Bumping into Anderson in Los Angeles, the Father of the Reeler shared a few yuks and absorbed at least one winking body blow from the Oscar-nominated director: "You know you don’t know a [gosh darn] thing about movies." I could say PTA's been reading me, but he just gets more and more self-effacing from there. It's an All-Positive Friday Hall-of-Famer.

--With the exception of his white-knuckled grip on Into the Wild's overripe jock, I like the way critic Steve Snyder thinks in his Oscar predictions in today's New York Sun. You won't find him perched too far out on any limbs, but any guy who's got Tommy Lee Jones's back for the morbidly underrated In the Valley of Elah is all right by me.

--Edith Zimmerman says she's writing a screenplay. Hilarity ensues.

--As far as stories about young actresses entering the fifth psychic phases of their lives by playing a girl with a pig nose and starring in the next Wachowski Brothers movie go, Logan Hill's profile of Christina Ricci in the forthcoming issue of New York Magazine is also pretty sharp. I'm almost wishing she had channeled Marilyn Monroe last week.

--Screw Barbara Walters: The cinetrix has her own pre-Oscar viewing recommendation for Sunday, and it involves a short trip to MoMA. Then come drink your tears away at The Reeler and Spout's Oscar party.

Posted at February 22, 2008 9:15 AM