MCN DVD
High School Musical 3

This being the students' senior year, the performers have other things on their minds, besides the big musical: final exams and blue-ribbon competitions; ritual break-ups and farewells; and the anxiety that comes with knowing they're about to become freshman, again. Conveniently, though, the transition also provides director/choreographer Danny Ortega and writer Peter Barsocchini with an opportunity to introduce loyal fans to the next generation of heartthrobs.

Also .. Body of Lies, I Served the King of England, Ping Pong Playa, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Quarantine

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The Ultimate DVD Geek
An American Carol
by Doug Pratt

I first saw David Zucker's Airplane! in a crowded urban theater and the audience was laughing uproariously throughout the film, except for one gag, when the airplane's wing knocks over the antenna of a radio station as the station is proclaiming, "Where disco lives forever." The theater went dead silent, and remained that way until the next solid gag. Zucker's entire 2008 antidisestablimentarian comedy, An American Carol, from Vivendi Entertainment, plays like that disco joke.

DP/30 Interviews: New DVD Releases
Choke Sam Rockwell & Anjelica Huston	Blindness Fernando Meirelles	Flash of Genius Marc Abraham & Greg Kinnear

Frenzy on the Wall:
Wondering About Slumdog
by Noah Forrest

The truth of the matter is that in most of the categories, each entrant is a worthy winner and if that’s indeed the case, then there shouldn’t be so many favorites at this stage. Is Slumdog Millionaire really that much better of a film -- in the eyes of the voters -- than Milk or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, to the point that it will run away with the Best Picture award?
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In their last rankings, the Gurus o' Gold offer a little twist with just one pick in each category. But we've scaled every vote from 1-10 so you'll know just how sure they are. The Gurus say it's Slumdog with lucky seven and three each for The Bat & The Button. That leaves 11 other Oscars up for grabs. Gurus - February 16, 2009

Voynaristic
Craftsmanship vs. Art in Filmmaking: Why Can't We Have Both?
by Kim Voynar

Having an understanding of how to technically make a film that looks good doesn't in and of itself make one a bad filmmaker; the best independent films are a marriage of good filmmaking techniques with an original, intriguing story, and I would argue that there is still plenty of that going on, especially among the films one is likely to find on the fest circuit or even in the local arthouse cinema.

Four Day Estimate	Gross	% Chg	Cume
Friday the 13th	53.1	-	53.1
He's Just Not That Into You	22.9	-31%	58.4
Taken	22.5	-6%	81.2
Coraline	19.3	-9%	39.5
Confessions of a Shopaholic	17.4	-	17.4
Paul Blart: Mall Cop	14.0	6%	112.8
The Pink Panther 2	10.9	-25%	24.2
The International	10.8	-	10.8
Slumdog Millionaire	8.6	0%	88
Push	8.4	-30%	20.8

Weekend Report
by Leonard Klady

The declining appeal of horror movies didn’t last long. The resurrected Friday the 13th slew the competition, debuting to an estimated $42.3 million in the first three days of the President’s holiday weekend. The session also included national bows for the romantic comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic of $15.7 million that ranked fourth and the financial thriller The International slotted seventh on a gross of $9.6 million.
Weekend Estimates (Full List)

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Wilmington on Movies
The International, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Under the Sea 3-D
by Michael Wilmington

Bad timing, anyone? Two big movies out this weekend have been condemned by some as suffering from timing problems, because of the economic mess -- and the subsequent changed national moods that mess has caused.

The third big movie, Friday the 13th 2009, which, of course comes out on exactly Friday the 13th, has no schedule problem at all; it can’t be accused of anything beyond calendar opportunism and planning to run up a big score.

Also ... Wilmington on DVDs

The International				-
Confessions of a Shopaholic		-	-	-
Under the Sea 3-D	-	-	-	-
Two Lovers	-	-			-
Gomorrah					-
Taken			-	-	-
Coraline	-			-
He's Just Not that Into You	-	-	-	-
The Pink Panther 2		-	-	-	-
Fanboys	-	-	-	-

Oscar Outsider :
Pondering the Contenders in the Best Picture Derby
by Kim Voynar

With 10 days to go until Oscar, it's time for Oscar Outsider to take a look at the Best Picture nominees. Here's a rundown of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the Best Picture contenders as we come down to the wire... and what the Academy voters might be thinking.

In the end, it matters not what critics or audiences think --Oscar night is all about the Academy, which is made up largely of well-off white people over the age of 50. Will the Academy find the homage to Bollywood appealing or off-putting?

DP/30 Created & Presented by David Poland
30 Minutes With Oscar Nominated Documentarians
Trouble The Water Deal & Lessin	Man On Wire Ryan & Meditch	Nerakhoon Ellen Kuras

DP/30
30 Minutes With The World's Top Animators
Andrew Stanton Wall-E	Henry Selick Coraline	Ari Folman Waltz With Bashir

20 Weeks to Oscar
Who Let the Dogs In?
by David Poland

Ladies & Gentlemen… children of all ages… seven Oscar nominees who really didn’t go into this season expecting to be attending the Academy Awards… Viola Davis. Courtney Hunt. Richard Jenkins.
Scott Hamilton Kennedy. Melissa Leo. Martin McDonagh. Michael Shannon. All deserving.  All appreciating.

The Charts
Best Picture | Director | Screenplay
Actor/Supporting Actor | Actress/Supporting Actress

Sundance In Brooklyn To Take A Breather

Reuters Refers To The Polish Director As "A Citizen Of His Native France"
Polanski Bid Dismissed Unless He Appears In L.A. Court

Paging Mr. Misogyny...

VF's DiGiacomo Crashes New Line Divorce... Can't Get Deeper Than "Irreconcilable Differences"

H'wd Party Planner, Author Of "Party Confidential," Has Oscar Party Tips
But - Manages To Overlook McNuggetini

Unseen Media Infrastructure Also Suffers
As Publishing Falters, So Does Printing: Canada's Largest Magazine Printer Cuts Capacity, Fires 160

Yes, Virginia, The Movie Industry Isn't An Oligarchy
The Wrap Unfurls University Of Chicago Anti-Labor "Labor Specialist" To Argue At Length That Unions Are Not Necessary

A Mash Note To Possible Movie Mash-Ups, Starting With Sir Elton John's "Pride And Predator" Project

Grasping For News Straws, Kim Masters Obsesses On The Ride Of The Film Of Spielberg's Lincoln

SAG, Studios To Chat

Tina Brown Urges Journalism Students To Move To India

The Art Of The Effective Acceptance Speech
Plus - Oscar's Best-Dressed Friends
And - Who Are The Queen And King Of The Red Carpet? (D'oh!)

California Beckons Filmmakers

Officially Teasering Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Armageddon

Tribeca Puts Its Money Where Its Money Is, Nabbing Sundance Master... But Can Anything Make A Close-To-Cannes Fest Matter As A Marketplace?
Geoff Gilmore Jumps Sundance Ship For For-Profit Tribeca Festival, Throws "New Paradigm" Talk Around
What Might It Mean?
And - The Sundance Institute's Confirmation Release

Time Breaks Warner Embargo On Watchmen At 5:12pm Eastern... Blogging For Time Isn't Journalism, According To Paid Employee Given Access To Company Product (Which He Raves)

Deconstructing The Original "Watchmen" Graphic Novel Covers

Withnail & I Farmhouse Sells For £265,000

"I don't say these things to call attention to myself or to get a rise out of people. I say them because I believe them. We're living in times when critics get fired if they don't like enough movies. People don't need to hear what mouthpieces for the movie industry tell them. They need to hear the truth."
NYMag Profiles Contrarian Cricket Armond White In 3,000 Words As The True Brother From Another Planet

Oscar Talk: Between The Walls With The Class' Laurent Cantet

"One must have almost a maniac's confidence to make a film. Greatness is incredibly close to horribleness. An inch to the left is horrible and an inch to the right is great. In order to try and do something terrific, you have to risk doing something terrible and that's a huge fear."
Two Lovers' James Gray Holds The Floor

Oscar Talk: Waltz With Bashir's Ari Folman Is A "South Park" Man

Actor Sam Riley's Still In Control

Designers Poyner And Shaughnessy Compare Movie Madness

Facebook Owns You

Andrew Sullivan Notes Casual Attitudes In Friday The 13th May Be Generational Indicators

H'wd & Fine Is Pleased To See Peter Gabriel Go Away

Has Shopaholic Killed Off The H'wd Fantasy Of Girls' Glam Lives At NYC Magazines?

German Officer Of Pianist Fame Honored In Israel

New Yorker Reporter Tags Along With 13-Year-Old Boy In Mumbai Slums (sub.)

Political-Baseball Stat Savant Nate Silver Massages Oscar Numbers

Jackie Chan Film Too Violent For China

Man On Wire Balances Eddie For Doc Editing; Also Wall-E; Slumdog
While - Cinematographers Go Millionaire

"Scottish police have warned filmmakers that they could be gunned down if they continue to use replica firearms without permission."

Times Comes Out For Oscar's "Gay Forays"

"Going down in history as an evil monopolist who fleeced Mexican consumers is not an image of himself that he likes, but it’s a true image. The possibility that he would throw his weight around itself acts as a gag."
The Times Profiles Its Present Salvador, Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim Helú
And - David Carr's Monday Column Considers How Random Fluctuations Aren't In Market Coverage
Plus - Brooks Barnes Asks Re: Watchmen's Zack Snyder Why "A Director of Two Films Is Suddenly a ‘Visionary’ by His Third"

"Any actor who thinks he's a sex symbol has got serious problems."

Riff-Rafferty Sez Cronenberg Goes Squish In The Night

The Woz Sez It's The Year Of The Actor At The Oscars

"There's a bit of the feeling of the Overlook, I hope without the creepiness. The idea is to create something that is old and grand and hopefully slightly bigger and more storied than its guests and owners."
When Hotel Designers Turn To Movies For Inspiration

Sure, The Show Goes On
"As journalists from Australia's Mountain Views Mail fanned out to capture the devastation that struck their community, they had no idea they were putting together a paper for a town that no longer existed."
Journalism Meets Narrative Meets Storytelling Meets Necessity As A Newspaper Reports Without A Town
And - "A capacity audience had flocked to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden to see the London debut of the opera, 'Into the Little Hill.' The house went dark 10 minutes in, the opera stopped and the house team announced there was a power cut. At about 10.15pm the composer said that the cast of two and the orchestra would perform the work in the bar itself."

Michel Gondry Directs An Episode of "Flight Of the Conchords"

Play The Awesome "1977" Watchmen 8-Bit Arcade Game

"Listening to Schulberg recall binge-drinking with F. Scott Fitzgerald, sparring with Hemingway, or describing how he restrained Sirhan Sirhan, seconds after he shot Robert Kennedy, you feel part of some bizarre collision."
Budd Schulberg's Amazing Life Story Keeps On Telling

The Sunday New York Times
"This much is clear: this year’s Oscars will have a story line related to making movies and will lean heavily toward live theater instead of endless film clips, with the award presentations almost Shakespearean plays within a play."
With - The Gentle Art Of The Facebook Update
And - The Long, Hard Hajj To Making Films About Islam
With - Getting Sita Sings The Blues, Animated Musical With Hindu Goddess As Betty Boop, Out Of Copyright Jail
And - Is There A Problem With Opera In The Multiplex?

"Given time or eternity, it had to happen. As surely as monkeys at typewriters will end up tapping out the works of Shakespeare, a Peruvian film about a woman with a potato in her vagina will–at some point–win the Golden Bear."

Ellen Kuras On The Two Decades Of Tech Shifts Behind Oscar-Nommed Betrayal

Reed Elsevier, Owner Of Variety And Farmers Weekly, About To Set Pricey Refinancing

M. Phillips On Why Jerry Lewis Should've Gotten A Best Actor Oscar In 1964 For His Masterpiece, The Nutty Professor

Reading The Reader As A Metaphor For American Health Care (!)

Unfolding Kubrick's Never-Made "Aryan Papers"

$50 Million In Arts Money Survives In Stimulus Bill
And - Canadian Guild To Offer Basic Benefits To Self-Employed Writers