Christopher Smets

It's a fascinating movie precisely because it seems to be arguing with present-day Mamet. Very well shot, too; you can feel Roger Deakins pushing against some of the too literal/ too schematic ideas he espouses in On Directing Film.

Some kind of, for sure.

That's great. I've actually met him a few times! I made a BTS doc about a film he was in, and he was a lovely guy.

I think the first thing I ever remember seeing him in was SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL where he's the cool skinhead.

I remember walking out of Demolition Man being totally charmed by Sandra Bullock.

You could neatly chart the arc of his decades-long political swing as veering from THE VERDICT to PHIL SPECTOR.

It's wild that the same man wrote The Verdict.

One of the funnier (?) things about that film is that he left out significant facts to make the victim look like a liar.

Dependable co-star of SLITHER and COCKFIGHTER.

"It is with great umbrage that I take umbrage..." etc.

There's an interesting moment in the Mamet interview where he misquotes William Goldman. He says Goldman once responded to a question by saying "I can't remember which lies I've told." Nope: Goldman wrote a book called Which Lie Did I Tell, but he was quoting something a film producer said to him.

In my experience, the privileged and arrogant often make excellent marks.

Х X r/Columbo a 96 This is the episode that got me hooked t... 129 upvotes⚫ 40 comments MiniBass Guitar 4h OMG it's Ruth! I did not know she was on this show. She and her husband lived across from us in the summer for several years in the 1970s and were the nicest people. I adored her. ← Reply secretdojo 2h What???? 40 MiniBass Guitar 2h For real. They had a summer home on our street and were delightful neighbors. I think it was their happy place, because they were always overflowing with smiles, walking hand in hand and happy to stop and chat on the street. Mom and I still have several autographed books by the two of them (her husband was screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin). In one of them, Ruth wrote "To a terrific cookie maker, from the daughter of a terrific cookie baker." Their memory remains a blessing! 20

X r/Columbo id This is the episode that got me hooked t... 129 upvotes. 40 comments MiniBass Guitar 1h She was magical. This was around when Harold and Maude was not too many years old, and she used to introduce it at our local movie theater over the town hall. I still get ridiculously happy every time I see her on the screen, as in this case. VaguelyArtistic 1h 14 What a great way to start the weekend. Harold and Maude is my favorite movie, thanks for the story. Sqatti 1h 6 Coolest story ever. 4 idanrecyla 1h That's a beautiful story, thanks for sharing зд

It's nice when, amidst all the weirdness, social media randomly throws you a tiny gem - like this commenter on the Columbo Reddit page, who was Ruth Gordon's neighbour in the 70s.

Also, we know this 35% won't last, gimme a break.

Like he rubbed poop on his face.

Had fun talking with Nick K for Crime Reads (which dug up Baby's First Author Photo for the illustration).

Ending quote:

Yeah, it doesn't feel entirely unrelated to something like the Golden Raspberry Awards, going after the low-hanging fruit with a real lack of curiosity about the art.

What a great, great farewell note

As part of my Elmore Leonard Summer, I've been reading Valdez is Coming and so far it's excellent, just beautifully lean, evocative writing from the tail end of Dutch's Western era. It also feels like it must have been a big influence on both The Limey and Unforgiven.

Hope this starts to snowball….

I like The Town well enough, but I find Belloni has a real late-90s, E! gossip show vibe to him.

True story.

Okay NOW I need to see it.

Man, I thought we'd never get this in anything but a muddy VHS rip, so I'm psyched to be seeing it for the first time in a theatre. Congrats on the piece, Jason!

Imagine choking to death in a restaurant and someone yells "is there a doctor in the house?" and a man stands up and says "yes, I'm a doctor" but it turns out he just writes reviews for blu-ray.com

I remember my friend and I renting these one summer in high school and laughing harder every time the credit came up for "And Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln."

Finally saw EDDINGTON tonight in a big, packed theatre with an audience that felt tuned in to its wavelength the whole way through. Lots of laughing, lots of gasping. When you see groups of people stay in their seats to chat after the credits, that always feels like a good sign.

Finally watched Jerry Schatzberg's SCARECROW today and it's terrific. Some silent movie-level character comedy that turns quietly devastating on a dime. More movies should begin at exactly the moment the two main characters meet.

yep.