While the cinetrix gets herself sorted, she'd like to point you in the direction of some pals.
First up, A.S. Hamrah debuts his new film column for n+ 1. Here's what he has to say after reviewing Paranoid Park and Boarding Gate:
On Taste
When talking about Van Sant and Assayas we have to talk about taste—their films are the sum of their tastes. They are the cinematic equivalent of record-collector bands like Sonic Youth. That's why they both have Kim Gordon in their films. They couldn't go on if they had to be silent about other people's work, and something compels them to get their fingerprints on everything they love.
Hee!
FOC Anthony Miller also gets filmy over at LitPark with a wide-ranging interview with Zeroville author Steve Erickson. A bit on Now, Voyager:
The extensive conversation about the movies you mentioned earlier between Vikar and the black militant burglar who breaks into his house is undoubtedly one of the funniest scenes in any of your novels. Among other topics, they discuss Max Steiner’s Oscar-winning soundtrack to Now, Voyager, a soundtrack which marked, as the burglar (who is bound to a chair) says, “the only time one of the biggest stars of all time lost a creative power struggle to the composer.”
The story is that Bette Davis tried to get Max Steiner fired from Now, Voyager because she thought his score upstaged her—a myopic view on her part to say the least because Now, Voyager isn’t the same movie without Steiner’s music and, consequently, whether she understood it or not, Davis’ wouldn’t have been the same performance. His score didn’t upstage her, it flattered her. I’ve since heard she tried to get Steiner kicked off other movies too, like Dark Victory—don’t know if it’s true but, if so, she obviously had it in for Max Steiner.
Which reminds me of an alleged Davis quip to the effect that she wasn't going up a staircase if Steiner was going to follow her.... Anyway, do read and savor the whole piece, which may be found here.
