Long before Charlie Sheen was holed up in Las Vegas, trying to decide which of three porn stars he liked best, he was a just-turned 26-year-old scamp looking to have a birthday party so kick-ass that someone like Marlon Brando would want to attend. Alas, feeling like "a very large turd on a very thin stick" will often prevent even the greatest among us from having a good time.
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Also in today's superlative-friendly edition of The Broadsheet: The most frightening mug shot ever... The most Tarantino-y awards debut ever... the best-ever New York film... The tackiest photo gallery ever... and the most/best/whatever of everything else floating in the cultural pool this morning...
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As we noted, The Coen Brothers' runaway Western-revenge hit True Grit contains some pretty interesting vocal tics. And yes, by "interesting," we meant "completely incomprehensible." Now, some folks at College Humor have added handy subtitles for a few of Jeff Bridges' grunts and slurs. Or at least, they tried. Watch the video after the jump to learn about Bridges' "occupied jinx," his "quark" and his "bend it." Here's hoping for a DVD special feature that includes phonetic subtitles for the whole film.
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News recently broke that acclaimed Old Boy director Park Chan-Wook shot his new thirty minute horror film on an iPhone. The film, Paranmanjang, had a $130,000 budget and will be released in nine cinemas nationwide. Yep, welcome to 2011! Sure, Chan-Wook is a solid filmmaker and it may be interesting to see how he handles an iPhone movie, but all the same I'd prefer that great filmmakers not get in the habit of shooting movies on cell phones. But since trends seem to operate independent of my opinion, it's always good to take a look at the silver lining. With that in mind, here are nine major filmmakers who might actually benefit from making their next film on an iPhone.
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Noomi Rapace is currently set to explode in the United States. The star of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series has already been cast opposite Robert Downey Jr. in the Sherlock Holmes sequel and her name has shown up on a number of high profile short lists for lead roles in movies that may or may not actually get produced (The surest sign of success in Hollywood today). But before she becomes a full-blown celebrity, you should really watch her cower in fear as a baby monitor makes scary noises in this trailer for the Norwegian thriller Babycall.
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· The newest trailer for MTV's Skins looks and sounds like a Kidz Bop rendition of Fiona Apple's "Criminal" video. Plenty of skin, smoke, and debauchery -- and the kind of makeout party your parents have heard about on the news. [MTV]
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Any excuse to post "Falling Slowly," is an excuse I'll gladly take. The New York Times reports that Irish playwright Enda Walsh and the Scottish director John Tiffany will collaborate on the stage adaptation of Once for Broadway. The current plan is to open the show -- which will feature music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova -- in the fall. Assume this film-to-stage adaptation will go better than Spider-Man. [NYT/ArtsBeat]
Despite what Todd Phillips might think, that's not a snarky headline -- it's a legitimate question for you as Monday draws to an end. So, upon hearing that he'd been nominated by peers in the Directors Guild, which director welled up with tears?
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If you thought that Mamie Gummer -- who is co-starring in Shonda Rhimes' new medical drama Off the Map -- has received valuable acting tips from her mother, 16-time-Oscar-nominated legend Meryl Streep, you're wrong. "We don't really talk shop at home. [She talks about] things that any other mother would try to convey, like things about SPF," The second generation Streep wearily told critics at this afternoon's TCA Press tour. "But no, and I totally understand [why people would think that], but it's not like we own a pizza joint and there is a secret sauce that stays in the family." Translation: Please stop asking!
· If only Glee star Harry Shum Jr. had a lightsaber in his belt when Sue Sylvester infamously labeled him "Other Asian," then perhaps that derogatory nickname wouldn't have stuck for so long. Shum flexes his action star muscles in the new short film Three Minutes, which features the coolest lightsaber duel this side of Darth Maul. Click ahead to watch the NSFW short (a decapitation is involved), marvel at the awesome lightsaber visual effects, and stick around for more Buzz Break.
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It seems James Cameron is saving his judge-y haymakers for bigger fish than just Piranha 3D. The King of the World told a German website that no film better embodies Hollywood's creative bankruptcy than Universal's two ka-billion dollar adaptation of Battleship. "We have a story crisis. Now they want to make the Battleship game into a film," said Cameron to Spiegel. "This is pure desperation." And how! Just wait until he finds out it co-stars Rihanna and Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.
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Remember all that talk about how True Grit was the new Best Picture front runner because of its muscular box office ($110 million and counting)? Yeah, perhaps not. Joel and Ethan Coen failed to received a nomination from the Directors Guild this morning, meaning True Grit's road to winning Best Picture just hit a major bump in the road. Or it didn't, since the Coens could still grab a Best Director nomination from the Academy at the end of this month. Otherwise, this list features your usual suspects. Click ahead for the nominees.
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Perhaps when Piers Morgan insinuated that all other media will fail, he meant that he'd single-handedly put them out of business. In addition to Oprah Winfrey, Morgan has compiled a hoarders-like line-up of first week guests: Radio star Howard Stern, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ricky Gervais and George Clooney. Not bad, Piers. No Simon Cowell, but hey -- Stern! Just watch out for Captain Janks. [The Wrap]
Full disclosure: My working knowledge of Captain America mythology is minimal. So, if you're a fan, perhaps this picture of Hugo Weaving-as-Red Skull holding the Cosmic Cube in Captain America: The First Avenger is fifty kinds of awesome. To me, it just looks like Agent Smith from The Matrix is leering at one of those Lucite photo frames you'd find filled with old pictures on someone's desk. Either way! Click ahead to marvel (ding!) at your first look at the wish-granting plastic.
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