Les Visiteurs du Soir 1942 @ Anthology Film Archives Jan 29

Les Visiteurs du Soir 1942 @ Anthology Film Archives Jan 29

#4MileMarch: Rally & Die In, Union Square

"A Vos Crayons, Citoyens!" Washington Square Je suis Charlie Rally January 10

Photos: Liza Béar All Rights Reserved

Eiffel Tower Goes Dark In Honor of Charlie Hebdo

"It's The Pictures That Got Small" Lines on lInes

The Happiest Couple in Hollywood--lines on lines

"It's the Pictures That Got Small" is a Joan Crawford line quoted by Joey Arias in the drag musical Christmas with the Crawfords; it's also the title of a book consisting of diary entries by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder's writing partner, reviewed by Frederic Raphael in the week-end edition of The Wall Street Journal Books section that I read just now courtesy my neighbor proscratinating to do the laundry but that I can't forward on FB since I don't have an online subscription. If the 422-page book is as spicy as the review it's well-worth putting a hold on at your local public library. As well as an assessment of a stellar collaboration, as you might expect it's full of historical tidbits about the partnership, the films they worked on and the social none too politically correct Hollywood climate of the times. Writes Frederic Raphael when he met Billy Wilder in person: "His apartment on Wilshire Blvd was filled with an art collection that testified to a refinement not always evident in his conversation." He probably saved his best lines for his scripts. LB

Christmas with the Crawfords [After the Final Curtain]

Connie Champagne as Judy Garland Photo Liza Béar

Flotilla Debarge as Hattie McDaniel Photo Liza Béar

           Christmas Eve 1944 at the Crawfords Set Designer Andrea Purcigliotti Photo Liza Béar

Two Days One Night: Dardenne Brothers Interview

Typically working with new or non-professional actors, in their latest film, Two Days One Night,  Belgian filmmaking brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne cast an international star, Marion Cotillard, as Sandra, a working mother just fired from a solar energy plant. A recent management scam has placed the onus of downsizing on workers, who are offered a bonus if they vote to operate with one less employee, resulting in Sandra’s dismissal. As might be expected,  with her customary precision, Cotillard delivers an astute, nervy performance that oscillates between anxiety and determination as she tries to get her job back.  

While, in a very different context, unemployment was also the focus of Rosetta, the Dardenne's break-out film—it reportedly aided  the passing of a labor bill, Rosetta’s Law, to protect young people—Two Days One Night tersely dramatizes  the issue of worker solidarity in a toxically competitive world. In 1999, Rosetta won the Palme d'Or by unanimous vote at Cannes. 
Interview, introduction, transcript and translation by Liza Béar.

http://bombmagazine.org/article/56491216/jean-pierre-luc-dardenne