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 tinseltown: year of the dog?
This week, good night, and good luck. Ah, 2005. A long and lovely year. Thank you, Collective readers, for tuning in through movies good and bad. For 2006 I wish each of you a dark theatre, an enormous screen, a plush seat, an endless supply of popcorn and a sneaky, bottomless bottle of wine. It’s the end of the line for Tinseltown on Collective, but I leave you with 10 or so films worth going to the theatre for in the Year Of The Dog:Block Party - In the golden days of 2004, comedian Dave Chappelle was sitting atop a big fat $50m contract and had yet to run away to South Africa. Instead, he had a massive block party - Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and The Roots all performed. The feuding Fugees reunited, even. Director Michel Gondry captures it all in this documentary/tour diary/music video. (No UK date yet.) A Scanner Darkly - Based on a Philip K Dick novel, this Richard Linklater-directed film about a future drug dystopia might prove to be poetic redemption for stars Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr. And if you can¹t look ‘em in the eye, well, you won’t have to. The film will be shot using the cartoon overlay technique that Linklater developed for Waking Life. (No UK date yet.) Ask The Dust – Today, Bukowski is the literary patron saint of the pissed and pugnacious, but the Barfly himself idolized LA author John Fante. Ask the Dust, Fante’s novel about a struggling writer in the 30s, is being adapted by Robert Towne, who wrote Chinatown, and stars the appropriately hard-drinking Colin Farrell. (No UK date yet.) Friends With Money - Nicole Holofcener makes intimate and slightly awkward movies about privileged modern life (Lovely & Amazing, Walking And Talking). This is her move into the big(ger) time. The film stars Jennifer Aniston, with subject matter that should be her forte. (No UK date yet.) Art School Confidential – We’ve been waiting for this one for a long time. Terry Zwigoff (Crumb, Ghost World) once again proves his comic book love by adapting a graphic novel by the exceptional Daniel Clowes. (No UK date yet.) Cars - The fish were fun. The Incredibles were super. The monsters were scare-tastic. The toys were terrific. But will the cars live up to Pixar’s storied past? John Lasseter is back in the director’s seat, and Owen Wilson is the voice of a cocky stock car. So chances, we think, are good. (Out in UK 28 July 06.) The Fountain - After the intense alter-worlds of Pi and Requiem For A Dream, director Darren Aronofsky hit dead weight with the ill-starred Batman: Year One project. He’s finally back, though, with The Fountain, a film that’s actually three epics in one - the search for the fountain of life in past, present and future, giving him three chances to recapture the old magic, with a much bigger budget. (No UK date yet.) Idlewild - Remember Outkast’s video for The Whole World? The one set in a three-ring circus? Bryan Barber, the video director, is taking Andre 3000 and Big Boi to a 30s speakeasy with this musical, which promises some rap at the juke joint.(No UK date yet.) Marie Antoinette - Sofia Coppola goes from modern-day Tokyo to 18th-century France, with Kirsten Dunst as the young queen and Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI. The best part? Same as all of Coppola’s movies - the soundtrack. This one promises a heavy dose of New Wave, just the thing for the guillotine. (Out in UK 26 December 06.) And finally… Two we secretly can’t wait for (but will never admit it): Take The Lead, wherein Antonio Banderas teaches dance to inner city kids, creating a ballroom/hip-hop explosion; and Last Holiday - Wayne Wang directing Queen Latifah in a remake of an Alec Guinness movie about a patient living it up in what she thinks are her last days. Good night, and good luck.
Jade Chang
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related info
 useful linkscars official site the fountain official site marie antoinette official site take the lead official site last holiday official site
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see also
 michel gondry interview daniel clowesinterview latest tinseltowns  tinseltown #154sundance 06  tinseltown #153ang lee  tinseltown #152 50 cent & jane... tinseltown #151george clooney  tinseltown #150mr lonely interview
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