Out of Focus

Be sure to start checking the Tribeca Film Festival website later today to get the full scoop on this year’s program. Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff will be announcing/releasing the full schedule at a press conference in Queens for the event which runs May 1-9 in downtown Manhattan.

Variety (subscription needed) has a little preview in today’s issue. The program that has been released sounds interesting, especially new films from Jim Jarmusch (Coffee and Cigarettes featuring new indie darling Bill Murray along with Roberto Benigni, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi, Alfred Molina, Iggy Pop, Rza, Tom Waits and the White Stripes) and Hector Babenco (an Argentinian director best known here for Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ironweed and the unfortunate At Play in the Fields of the Lord). The latter’s new film Carandiru will screen as part of a spotlight on Latin American filmmakers.

A selection of narrative and documanetary features will screen in competition as will a number of shorts. There will also be selection of panels, including one which should be filed in the “don’t miss” column called “Scorsese & Music.” Personally, I believe any opportunity to hear Martin Scorsese talk about movies should be a “don’t miss” event, but considering that he one of his specialties is utilizing music (especially popular songs), this should be a fascinating discussion.

I’m a big proponent of the TFF, even though some in the NY indie film community have criticized it for being not indie or NYC-oriented enough. However, with the NY Film Festival being more of a showcase than a “festival,” and all the other various fests in the city being of smaller scope, I think it’s appropriate for New York to have a major festival that could potentially (and hopefully) rival Sundance, Toronto and Cannes. TFF isn’t there yet, but there were noticeable differences in each of the first two editions, and I’m sure that attendees this year will notice that the festival continues to evolve.

(UPDATE: Oops … the official announcement was today but the full schedule has not been set and the program is not yet up on the site. My bad … but still, start checking their site regularly and be sure to attend if you’re in NYC in May.)

Yes, I realize the goal is to have a combination of hard news and lifestyle stories in this little box on the AIM sign-on screen that I’ve been moaning about for the past two days. However, it already takes up such a small part of the window with far more space devoted to other news and games and public interest stories, I’m going to keep bitching about their lack of judgment in choosing what is essentially about the AOL fold.

So pay attention:

1. Breaking News: Top U.S. Official in Intensive Care
   Wonkette has put a joke hiatus on this story, but since I’m not that funny anyway: is anyone really surprised that John Ashcroft has a build-up of bile in his body that has now solidified? Should we all have entered some sort of pool as to when this would happen? Also, in the midst of the current “culture war,” it is a bit telling to see him referred to as “Top U.S. Official.” I know economy is virtue in a headline, but wouldn’t “A Top U.S. Official” have changed the meaning slightly, unless we think about the fact that he really is controlling things!
   (UPDATED: Jean-Paul at low culture sends Ashcroft a heartfelt get-well-soon card.)

2. Janet Jackson Returns to ‘Live’ TV
   Janet’s going on SNL. This is important because maybe if they actually put clothes on her as she performs, all of this uproar will finally go away.

3. Senior Citizens Brawl Over Salad
   No words.

With all my Mel-talk recently, that may not be the best headline, but I haven’t weighed in at all on the Howard Stern controversy in which near-monopoly Clear Channel Communications dropped his show from the six stations on which they carried his daily morning show. There’s not too much to say other than what Clear Channel has done is unreasonable, ridiculous and just yet another reactionary action due to the recent moral outrage sweeping this country over anything … well … yeah, anything. I didn’t think Janet’s breast was that powerful or looked like straw, but damn if it didn’t break that stinky camel’s back.

Far more interesting than what I have to say is this article which appeared today on Salon. (“The Passion of Howard Stern” via Mediabistro.)

For the past several weeks, I have regularly looked forward to Thursdays, not because of Friends (please end this nightmare season soon) nor Survivor (although I’m kicking ass in my pool, having already won back 150% of my cash), but rather because of the Wonkette feature “Thursdays with Tina.” OK, so sometimes it doesn’t get up on the site until Friday, but it’s worth the wait. Ana Marie Cox’s translations of erstwhile New Yorker and Talk editor (and currently failing/flailing CNBC talk-show host) Tina Brown’s weekly Washington Post column never fail to at least make me chuckle and at most concern passersby as to why I am experiencing hysterical convulsions in front of my computer.

Apparently, everyone’s favorite internet embellisher Matt Drudge recently started a “controversy” over some T-Shirts being sold at Urban Outfitters that said “Voting is for Old People.”

As usual Wonkette has been there to put Drudge in his place, and I second her endorsement of this latest human cloth billboard! Can’t you just see it now … a whole army of hipsters in a sea of these t-shirts. I’m tearing up just thinking about it.

(Disclaimer: T-Shirt may not adhere to high-school dress codes.)

I know I didn’t mention it before, and maybe I should have, but other, better bloggers out there did, so I figured, why bother?

But I’m sure member-of-the-tribe producer Joe Roth had no idea that including Hitler’s favorite home movie camerawoman in the “In Memoriam” tribute would create such a stir. Maybe it doesn’t take much to get Vanity Fair editor Greydon Carter to start a a chorus of hissing, but who knew the ADL would jump on this like it was the Second Coming of Mel. Luckily, Elton John was around to put everything in perspective:

Yes, Hitler was evil, but I think it was proper to have her name there. She was a great filmmaker, and as an artist myself, I think she deserved to be there.

Yahoo! News – Oscar Tribute to Nazi Filmmaker Draws Ire (link via indieWIRE)

At home, I use a Mac. At work, I use a PC. The other day when starting-up AOL Instant Messenger at work, I received one of those nice little notices mentioning that there was a new version of AIM (I think it’s something like 5.5.6721098509873240985480943259078324809325895421390823149085902229C … but I could be wrong) available for download that allows the user to do things such as be signed on to more than one screen name at once. Besides, it’s always a good idea to be updated, right? So I downloaded it, and ever since, when I sign-on in the morning here at work, a window (that looks much like the main AOL service’s “Welcome” screen) pops up with “news,” weather, and other assorted info … basically, links to take you to stories on AOL’s main site.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was somewhat amazed that, the death of Clay Aiken’s estranged father was apparently considered one of the three most important headlines of the day. Even if they reserve one slot for entertainment (and really, why bother?), the day after a major primary and with continued unrest in Haiti and Iraq, Aiken’s non-Dad-dad? Please.

But I took notice of the little “news” box in the upper right corner of the window again today, and I suppose it’s just that AOL still hasn’t worked out the kinks as far as hiring people with good judgment. Either that, or there really was virtually NO news yesterday. I’m thinking of making this a regular morning feature because it manages to both amuse and infuriate me:

1. Breaking News: Disney Chair Booted From Post (links to CNN Money)
   This is their one important story of the day, albeit it’s a very misleading headline, and since it happened last night, is it still “breaking?” Michael Eisner has had his “Chairman” title taken away, but he’s still the CEO of Disney, so while he was “booted” from that post, he still controls the company.

2. Baldwin, Basinger Battle Ends
   Whew! Finally I have some free time to follow some notable but less-sensationalized court cases. (Actually, I wasn’t aware they were still fighting. Oops!)

3. Teacher Duct Taped Boy to Desk
   You’ll be happy to know the teacher has since resigned … and that the incident happened on Feb. 19, making this even more timely since we’re still only in March. I’m sure the teacher was completely overreacting to something, because as the father of the 14-year-old seventh grader (wah?? me thinks someone has been held back once or twice. He has ADD, but don’t we all?) said, “He was just being ornery.” Thanks, Duke.

… because it’s all very applicable to me as well.

Cup of Chica describes her relationship with her books: “reading them,” “avoiding them,” and “buying them,” which she translates into “possessing them.” I’ve never met the lady, yet anyone who’s seen my apartment might think she has psychoanalyzed me perfectly. That is until you browse the titles she lists and recognize they’re all way too sophisticated and interesting for me.

With one exception: Michael Cunningham’s The Hours because, as you may have heard, they made a movie out of it, a movie which I have still refused to see because I always intended to read the book. But, I didn’t want to read Cunningham’s novel until I had finished his inspiration for it, and while I have loved reading Virginia Woolf, I’ve had a really hard time getting through this one. I’ll start it, read 50 pages, get sidetracked, pick-it-up again, and realize I have to start from the beginning because I don’t remember anything. I’ll go back to it soon, and then maybe I can have the same experience as Chica, starting and stopping The Hours, not necessarily liking it along the way.

Oh … wait … Middlesex is on my nightstand too. Yay. I feel much better about myself.

Overheard while waiting for the slowest elevator in Manhattan earlier today:

Postman: Hey, have you seen The Passion of Christ?
Security Guard: No. Why should I?
Postman: Well …
Security Guard: Have you read the Bible?
Postman: Sure.
Security Guard: I read the Bible. I know what happens.

It seems that tomorrow night’s episode of favorite guilty-pleasure The O.C. is the last airing of the series for a little while so Fox can capitilize more on the astounding success of American Idol by making the crappy results show an even crappier 60 minutes (at least on 3/10), as they also launch the new Jason Schwartzman/Molly Shannon comedy from the Weitz Brothers and Mike White: Cracking Up (which actually premieres the night before on 3/9). WHEW!

However, the good news is that one of (if not the) funniest shows on TV will hopefully benefit from an American Idol boost by airing after it on Wednesday March 17 since apparently it’s still on the bubble to return next year. This according to the wonderful Cynopsis who sits through boring, smoke-blowing network scheduling conference calls (in this case, Fox’s) so that the rest of us don’t have to.