The News: Ledger Fallout Blankets NYC
By S.T. VanAirsdale
Some of today's movie news of note from around New York:
--There's basically one New York film story today, and you know what that is. Among the notable reactions: Glenn Kenny is sad, disgusted. A grudge-bearing Lou Lumenick saw it coming. David Carr wants answers. David Thomson mourns critically. Gary Susman cringes, gets misty-eyed, etc. Michael Musto gets irreverent.
--For some of the best local commentary about this year's Oscar nominations, visit Mark Asch's spiel at The L Blog, where hope and cynicism collide in a radioactive hail: "I'd preface this post with 'not that it really matters,' except that that would be a lie. ... If There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men split the smart-person vote, and Juno actually wins, I will understand, even better than I do now, how the Unabomber felt in his cabin all those years."
--It may have taken two men to direct the NYC-to-Sundance '08 tandem Savage Grace and August, but they required only one powerhouse screenwriter to conjure them: Howard Rodman, with whom Ray Pride has a revealing interview at Movie City Indie.
--Over at Pullquote, Ed Koch offers four paragraphs of stinging rejoinders for Cloverfield, "probably the worst film I have ever seen." Cassandra's Dream fares a little better.
Posted at January 23, 2008 10:05 AM
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Comments (2)
Wow. That Lou Lumenick blog post is one of the most callous things I've ever read. He'd be reprimanded for it (or fired) at any other publication, but this being the Post, I guess callousness is the house style. Whatever the case, Ledger was a notoriously taciturn interview subject, and shouldn't be judged by his failures to articulate his craft to one haughty critic's satisfaction. For shame.
Posted by Scott Tobias | January 23, 2008 11:46 AM
I couldn't agree more, Scott. I hesitated to link to Lou, but it seemed kind of necessary under the circumstances. My own encounters with Ledger revealed him to be self-effacing and even nervous around even the most supportive press, so I don't know what could have changed. Mileage may vary, as they say. But if only for his family's sake -- his 2-year-old daughter's sake -- try to show some class.
Posted by STV | January 23, 2008 1:37 PM