It's Tearing Christopher Abbott Apart

I forgot that this was happening, but actress and writer Zoe Kazan is taking a page from her esteemed Hollywood heritage and writing the script for a new limited-series adaptation for Netflix of John Steinbeck's classic novel East of Eden, which her Grandpa Elia himself turned into a legendary star-making vehicle for one Mr. James Dean back in 1955. Florence Pugh's been attached for some time but the reason I'm reminded of this project's existence is this week's news that one Christopher Abbott will be tackling the role of Adam Trask in the series. Which is not the role that James Dean played, by the way... 

... but the role played by Raymond Massey, aka Jimmy Dean's character's father. The 1955 film only adapted the last part of the epic book, the part about Adam and Cathy's children Cal (Dean) and Aron (Richard Davalos), so yes this is a pretty smart idea for a limited series adaptation -- there's an entire three-quarters of the book laying there to be told! Although I do know there was also a 1981 three-part miniseries that starred, amongst others, the ridiculously handsome Hart Bochner...

... and that I would love to see. Anybody seen that? 

Thursday's Ways Not To Die

Apartment Zero (1988)

I'll admit I don't know if getting murdered in bed by a naked 1988 Hart Bochner really counts as a way 'not" to die, but let's run with it for today's purposes. When I posted about this movie at the start of this week I mentioned it being even queerer than I remembered, and this scene here was just one out of many moments I was thinking of. It's the most blatant I suppose -- two men naked in a hotel room, one ass up in bed -- but I want to make it clear today that the entire damn film works this hard at being gay.  

And yet for some reason whenever I think back on this movie I think of it as, "Oh it's that movie that never says 'Gay.'" But it screams Gay! "GAYYYYY!!!" screams Apartment Zero. It screams it from the gayest mountaintop! I don't know why I ever think this movie's subtle about it. It is not subtle. Apartment Zero is not only merely gay, it's really quite sincerely gay. Let's put the whole "coded" thing to rest with this one.

Hit the jump for links to previous Ways Not To Die...

If At Firth You Don't Succeed

Suppose it would've behooved me to add this news as an aside to this morning's post about Colin Firth and Hart Bochner playing gay chicken with each other in 1988's Apartment Zero but I didn't notice it until just now -- this year's also seen Colin Firth once again playing gay, this time textually so, in Supernova, and Supernova is out on digital streaming today. You can rent it at Amazon -- it's on sale right now for a measly $5.49 for god's sake! I reviewed the film a few weeks back when it played in "theaters" -- read that at Pajiba. I said it at the time but that writing that review is one of the few times I have actually made myself weep from the words I was typing. I'm so lame! You should definitely laugh at me! Anyway Tucci is very good here but Firth is best in show for me, in this -- an incredibly moving performance from him. He does Gay Grief real good!

Good Morning, World

I am going to have more to share on this later this week -- wink wink, on Thursday -- but for this here Tuesday morning I thought I'd greet us with a few gifs from the 1988 lost-classic Apartment Zero starring Hart Bochner and Colin Firth, a film that yes, I have spoken of my infatuation with previously. (Even as recently as last week, haha.) I realized (and tweeted) recently that my boyfriend, a noted Hart enthusiast, had somehow never seen this film, and so we watched it last night...

... this film's gotten extremely difficult to watch; it's not streaming anywhere so far as I could tell. You can buy an old really shitty-quality DVD on Amazon or eBay for 15-20 dollars (or a slightly newer shitty DVD for seventy-plus dollars) which was how we watched it last night; I'd bought a copy last year... and it turned out the DVD was broken and wouldn't play the film's last five minutes. Argh! I did find an even worse quality copy on YouTube that has annoying unnecessary subtitles splashed across it, so I was able to show the boyfriend the movie's end, thankfully. But I also noticed the YouTube copy has a few scenes that were not included on my DVD; one right before the end that out-of-nowhere cruel to the film's trans character (glad this scene got cut from our U.S. version), as well as the scene I giffed here, of Hart gratuitously taking his shirt off to taunt poor, cluelessly closeted Colin.

Anyway I will have more on this movie come Thursday -- I'm just saying if I am inspiring you to watch the movie between now and then, or like ever, it will be a pain in the ass to do so. Alas. I can't believe somebody like Kino or dare-to-dream Criterion hasn't gotten on updating this film to blu-ray, it's fascinating and funny and real strange and even more queer than I remembered it being. 

Pic of the Day

Just randomly stumbled upon this photo of Apartment Zero actors slash dreamboats Hart Bochner and Colin Firth -- who just gave a tremendously moving performance in the movie Supernova, reviewed here -- flanking slash humping their make-up man Alberto Moccia, and knew I had to post it, since we're massive Apartment Zero fans. (Talk about a movie ripe for rediscovery -- it's a disgrace even the DVD is out-of-print; get it on blu-ray already, Criterion or somebody!) See my previous beefcake-centric post on Apartment Zero here. Firth really has been playing gay since forever -- I mean his very first movie was Another Country, for god's sake! Colin Firth has been playing gay for longer than I have, basically!

Good Morning, World

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This one's a random one and don't ask me how I came upon it, I don't recall -- in 1982 a pilot was filmed for a TV series called Callahan that was going to star the Terror Train two-some of the dreamboat Hart Bochner (he'd play the dude in distress in Supergirl a couple of years later and win my eternal fandom) and Jamie Lee Curtis. It was about a rogue adventurer of the Indiana Jones sort and his put-upon assistant slash Girl Friday, and if you're curious about its tone know that it was created by the dude who that same year directed Airplane II: The Sequel. That is to say it's hammy as fuck. And yet Hart Bochner looks really good...

... he is Hart Bochner in 1982 after all. And Jamie Lee Curtis is Jamie Lee Curtis, and damn if she isn't giving it her all. Am I nuts that I was charmed by Callahan? If this had been a Saturday morning serial that aired in the mid-80s when I was a little kid I can tell you that I would have been straight up obsessed with this show. They apparently aired the pilot on TV because there are comments on its YouTube page and its IMDb page from people who remembered seeing it -- I don't know why it never got picked up but there's an entire podcast (which I have not listened to) on the subject at this link. I should add I haven't listened to it yet. I'm probably going to listen to it right now because my interest is piqued. Now you, you waste half an hour of your morning watching this entertaining shit:

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And after the jump a few more gifs 

because why the hell not, we're here...

10 Off My Head: Siri Says 1989

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Well it's Tuesday so you know what that means - there's about a 20-25% chance that I won't be lazy and I will actually do one of our "Siri Says" series posts, wherein I ask the robot lady inside my telephone to give me a random number between one and one hundred and then, once she has, I take that number and I turn it into a year and then I pick my five (well usually five) favorite movies from that year. For example today my phone gave me the number 89, and so we're going to list out favorite movies from The Movies of 1989.

On first glance through 1989's movies I thought this was going to be a small sad strange bunch, since the year was mostly populated with junk like Weekend at Bernie's or Born on the Fourth of July or (horror of horrors) Driving Miss Daisy. Blecch no thank you - I am with Spike Lee; Morgan Freeman should have driven Miss Daisy right off the cliff. But then I started digging deeper and there are a bunch of buried gems that came out this year, and what follows is probably one of the strangest most erratic batch of movies I've ever listed for one of these.

There are movies in here that I loved as a 11-year-old kid and there are movies that I have come to appreciate with a more adult sensibility, but side by side these all seem a little bit bonkers. Anyway once I did get to digging I found plenty to adore - indeed too many, and this week's list is twice the standard. And I could've made it even longer and brought several of those runners-up up too - Indiana Jones and Batman should've made my top list probably, but I decided to just stay weirder.

And before you write an angry defense of Do the Right Thing (obviously the true masterpiece of the year) please remember these aren't the "best" movies of the year, they are the ones I personally get the most joy from. My "favorites." My "best" list would be pretty different. (There are also some real glaring oversights in the list of movies I haven't seen, for that matter.) I give you...

My 10 Favorite Movies of 1989

The Little Mermaid

(dir. Ron Clements & John Musker)

-- released on November 17th 1989 --

Road House

(dir. Rowdy Herrington)

-- released on May 19th 1989 --

Heathers

(dir. Michael Lehmann)

-- released on March 31st 1989 --

Dead Calm

(dir. Phillip Noyce)

-- released on April 7th 1989 --

Steel Magnolias

(dir. Herbert Ross)

-- released on November 22nd 1989 --

Meet the Feebles

(dir. Peter Jackson)

-- released on December 8th 1989 --

Apartment Zero

(dir. Martin Donovan)

-- released on October 18th 1989 --

The Seventh Continent

(dir. Michael Haneke)

-- released on May 19th 1989 --

The War of the Roses

(dir. Danny Devito)

-- released on 1989 --

Society

(dir. Brian Yuzna)

-- released on May 13th 1989 --

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Runners-up: Batman (dir. Tim Burton), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (dir. Spielberg), Do the Right Thing (dir. Spike Lee), Sante Sangre (dir. Jodorowsky), Back to the Future: Part II (dir. Zemeckis), Parenthood (dir. Ron Howard), Drugstore Cowboy (dir. Gus Van Sant), The Abyss (dir. James Cameron), Troop Beverly Hills (dir. Jeff Kanew)....

.... Ghostbusters II (dir. Ivan Reitman), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (dir. Gilliam), The Fabulous Baker Boys (dir. Steve Kloves), Akira (dir. Otomo), Crimes + Misdemeanors (dir. Woody Allen), Parents (dir. Bob Balaban), Major League (dir. Irby Smith), When Harry Met Sally (dir. Rob Reiner), Sex Lies and Videotape (dir. Steven Soderbergh), The Burbs (dir. Joe Dante)

Never seen: Casualties of War (dir. Brian De Palma), My Left Foot (dir. Jim Sheridan), Roger & Me (dir. Michael Moore), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (dir. Peter Greenaway), Dekalog (dir. Kieslowski)...

... Kiki's Delivery Service (dir. Miyazaki), The Killer (dir. John Woo), Last Exit to Brooklyn (dir. Uli Edel), New York Stories (dir. Various), The Rainbow (dir. Ken Russell), Sweetie (dir. Jane Campion), Valmont (dir. Milos Forman)

What are your favorite movies of 1989?

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I Am Link

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--- Horse Of Course - I saw the indie coming-of-age flick King Jack at Tribeca in 2015 and reviewed it right here - well its star Charlie Plummer, who was very very good, has just landed a pretty plum gig leading Andrew Haigh's new movie. It's called Lean On Pete and it's based on a book about a teenager searching for his aunt after his father dies. The film will co-star Steve Buscemi as the owner of a race-horse who tags along for the ride - also announced for the cast are Chloe Sevigny and tasty Travis Fimmel.
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--- Gonzo Gizmo - In my house it's always Gremlins O'clock (and hey they're screening that movie in 33mm here in NYC at the astonishing Metrograph soon!) so this nifty little tidbit of information on how Steven Spielberg rewrote the future of cute with a last-minute swerve in the making of the original film is worth checking out.
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--- Humans For Hauntings - The fourth Insidious film is gathering steam and besides the constant Lin Shaye (bless that little lady) in the familiar role of spook-toucher Elise, they've just signed on board the actor Josh Stewart, who is one of Those Guys whose face is becoming one of Those Faces that you sort of know but you're not sure from where. The answer, probably, in this case is The Dark Knight Rises.

--- Where No Man - One of the (many many many many) things that I missed out of Comic-Con was all the stuff about Bryan Fuller's upcoming Star Trek show - it's gotten a title: Star Trek Discovery! I like it. And it's gotten a little teaser trailer, which you can watch right here:

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--- Italian Flavor - Over at Coming Soon they've ranked all 22 of Mario Bava's movies -- I didn't realize that Bava only made 22 movies! I've actually seen more than half of his output already! That terrifies me; I don't want to run out of Bava movies ever. Anyway I find fault with a few of the placements (Hatchet For the Honeymoon is one of my favorites and it's ranked very poorly) but if you wanna introduce yourself to the director this is an excellent resource.
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--- Young At Hart - At the start of this week when I did "Beauty vs Beast" for John Waters' film Desperate Living (have you voted yet?) I mentioned that The Film Experience has been celebrating the year 1977 - well Nathaniel went and found a true discovery from that year, the Ernest Hemingway adaptation Islands in the Stream, which I had never heard of and which co-stars the delicious (and young!) Hart Bochner in his very first role. Click on over to TFE for several fine little snapshots of that business.

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--- Rich & Pretty - Did any of you watch the pilot episode of The Last Tycoon, aka that Fitzgerald adaptation starring Matt Bomer on Amazon? I did and... it was okay? I would probably watch more anyway, so the news that there will be more means I will be doing just that - Amazon has picked the show up for a full season after doing their patented "test it out for one episode" thing. (thx Mac)

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--- And Finally I am pretty conflicted about looking forward to a new Mel Gibson movie but my love for Andrew Garfield is pretty deep... deep enough to overcome a homophobic sexist antisemitic pigfucker sitting in the director's chair? I guess we'll see when Hacksaw Ridge, his new Andrew Garfield movie about a real-life conscientious objector in WWII, comes out. The movie's got a trailer now, watch:
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Today's Mood

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I Am Link

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--- Space Oddity - The new Bjork album is so good, you guys! I've been listening to it non-stop all week; it's gorgeous and super super sad - I had no idea she and Matthew Barney had broken up but once again she's making the case for artist's needing to live hellish miserable lives for Great Art's sake. There's a really wonderful interview with her over at Pitchfork which you should read; she keeps breaking down and crying in the middle of it - crying! Bjork! WTF let's go hunt down Matthew Barney and do filthy Cremaster things to him.
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--- Sky Blonde - CBS' Supergirl has been cast and it's Melissa Benoist, who was on Glee and also played the girl that Miles Teller didn't have any damn time for in Whiplash cuz drums, yo. I remember thinking she was pretty adorable in Whiplash so best of luck to her - of course this entire project labors under the unbeatable memory of Faye Dunaway camping it up and Hart Bochner's wondrously tight jeans, but still, good luck trying.

--- Sticky Stuff - A remake of The Blob certainly seems overdue so this makes sense - the dude who directed Con Air and Lara Croft Tomb Raider and a bunch of other big explosion riddled garbage has just signed on for it. A blob movie doesn't necessarily need to be "good" though, ya know? So we'll see how it goes.

--- Spider Twink - Look out Andrew Garfield, Taron Egerton is coming up behind you (and oh what a behind) - in an interview with MTV the Kingsman star says he isn't going to play Young James Marsden for Bryan Singer (cue one lone tear trickling down Bryan Singer's cheek) (yes that cheek) but if he was going to play a superhero he's love to show off his own set of Spider-Buns.
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--- Experience This - Over at The Film Experience the Team Experience Awards for 2014 have been posted, huzzah! Lots of great great picks by the gang, which is to be expected, since everybody over there is awesome. Lots of love for Under the Skin, double huzzah.) As an aside, just for posterity's sake, I will mention that I did not vote this year - you can already tell that though because The Babadook didn't win everything.

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--- Pat The President - The Hollywood Reporter lists five movies that might sneak up on us at Sundance with a surprise Wowza, and amongst the lot is that movie starring Alexander Skarsgard's Mustache, and also a movie called Zipper, which is about, and I quote, "a federal prosecutor and devoted family man (Patrick Wilson) whose political future is in jeopardy thanks to his burgeoning sex addiction" and oh my god Patrick Wilson in a sex-addiction movie I am so there.

--- Get Pegged - Well this is nifty: Simon Pegg has been hired to co-write the third Star Trek script! Hmm I wonder, will Scotty have a lot to do this time around? I think he just might. I'd also completely missed the news that Fast & Furious director Justin Lin had been hired to direct; I can't say anything about that though since I have never seen any of his movies.

--- Dolan Dearest - The best scene in Xavier Dolan's Mommy has been released in clip-form and you can watch it over here, although I'm not entirely sure that out of context it will work? If you'd shown me that clip out of context I'd have probably cringed since yikes Celine Dion. But really it works in context, I promise! Speaking of Xav over here there's a round-up of recent interviews (of the video sort) with the hipster savant talking about Mommy and all sorts of other stuff.
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--- Up To Ten Eighty - I love this list at Fangoria of semi-forgotten (or just slipped through the cracks) horror gems that need to be released onto blu-ray - David Lynch's Mulholland Drive is hardly forgotten (hell we were just posting about it the other day for Lynch's birthday) but it did come out right in that sweet spot before blu-ray where a lot of things have stayed to wither on DVD. Still I assume once a Lynch boxed-set is made it'll be up in there.
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