Return of Friday Night Tweets: All Things Washington D.C.

Greetings to our blog readers in Mexico, South Africa and India. Tonight, if you only learn one thing from blog hopping, we hope that you take away this fact: Elin Suleymanov, we hope we spelled his name right, is the Azerbaijani ambassador to the United States.

Embassies were the focus of one tweet tonight, while others dealt with political issues du jour. It should also be pointed that unlike the web site for the Roanoke Tea Party (sorry, we aren't giving ou their link), which actually attacked Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia (?!), we are being nice to Cong. Morgan Griffith (R-Va), even though all of us here have voted for Barack Obama four times each.

Here are eight tweets which have been posted in the last 24 hours:

1. WNYC @ WNYC (NPR station in New York): Does NYC's density help protect elderly who live alone from dying in heat waves?

2. The Hill @TheHill, which is a DC-based newspaper covering Capitol Hill: "U.S. to reopen 18 of 19 embassies that were closed to terror threats. (Yemen is the lone American embassy which is not re-opening).

3. Politico @politico: "One take away from Obama's press conference. He doesn't like Vladamir Putin, not one bit."

4. The Vancouver Sun @VancouverSun: "Gay Russians seeking refuge in Canada to escape homophobic news laws."

5. Mormon Democrats @MormonDems: "#LiberalsGetUpsetWhen Republicans side with the 3 % of climate scientists who don't think #globalwarming is a problem."

6. Carson Daly @CarsonDaly: "And the Emmy goes to...........Jon Voight for Ray Donovan #wordscomingsoon"

7. Katrina vanden Heuvel @KatrinaNation: "A party that defies demographic reality, grounded in white resentment, may well doom itself to permanent minority-dom or political suicide. (Katrina is the managing editor of the liberal magazine "The Nation," pictured center. The publication has made national news for its spat with Wal-Mart over workers' wages).

8. Morgan Griffith @RepMGriffith: "Ok, Mr. President, show me the "dishes!" Show me the FISA court opinions, etc., so we can have the discussion you invited in your press conference." (Cong. Griffith is pictured bottom, he was previously the Republican leader in Virginia's House of Delegates).

For more tweets from the night go to our sister blog "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" http://www.politicscultureandotherwastesoft.blogspot.com


Other Links:

http://www.azembassy.us/3/33.html

http://thehill.com/

http://www.politico.com/

http://www.utahdemocrats.org/

http://morgangriffith.house.gov/

http://www.thenation.com/

Cuneyt Arkin vs. Chuck Norris (6 of 6)_ The Hero and the Terror

We conclude our six-part series which examines who actually won Best Actor Oscars in the years that Turkish cinema icon Cuneyt Arkin and American action movie star Chuck Norris made films which stand out in their filmography.

Of course, the joke here is that Arkin and Norris are not exactly method actors.

Today, we conclude with the Norris vehicle "The Hero and the Terror" (1988); and which actor won that year?

A) Dustin Hoffman

B) Robert Redford

C) Peter Sellers

D) Paul Newman

E) Gene Hackman


The answer to yesterday's question was B) Jon Voight

UPDATE: The answer to this question is A) Dustin Hoffman

Quote of the Day- Jeff Daniels

The always provocative center-left magazine "The New Republic" tweeted the following question tonight (paraphrase): "Will partisan presidential campaign rhetoric still continue during the Olympics?," which does keenly illustrate that right now The United States of America is perhaps as politically divided as our southern neighbors Mexico, where we gather they are still tallying the votes.

So, since this is an election year, and we have already quoted presidents, vice presidents and even candidates who lost the election and never became 'el presidente' (ie. John McCain and John Kerry), we thought we'd quote actors who have played American president on film and for television.

We start with Jeff Daniels, 57, who I saw in concert (yes, he sings too and he is quite good at it) at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC, last year. Daniels is known for films like "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (dir. Woody Allen, 1984) and "Squid and the Whale" (dir. Noah Bambach, 2005), but he played Gen. George Washington in the tv movie "The Crossing" (2000). The actor/singer is currently starring the hit HBO series "The Newsroom" and he is on the cover of this month's "Cigar Aficionado" magazine.

Interestingly, Oscar-winning, liberal-turned Tea Partier actor Jon Voight played Washington in the right-wing comedy "An American Carol" (2008) which spoofed Michael Moore, but the film did not perform well at the box office nor did it help get McCain elected. Voight also played Franklin D. Roosevelt" in the film "Pearl Harbor," so he will be quoted here at some point this week.

For the moment, here is the quote from Daniels:

"And the actors tend to want to watch themselves very often. I'm one of those guys."

http://www.tnr.com

http://www.cigaraficiando.com

http://www.gwu.edu

http://www.mountvernon.org

http://www.jeffdaniels.com

http://www.carolinatheatre.org

http://www.michaelmoore.com

Sofia Coppola Likes John Hughes Movies

According to the current issue of "Film Comment," our favorite film magazine/journal (but, like "Cineaste" too), film director Sofia Coppola, best known for her film "Lost Translation" with Bill Murray (see image above), recently watched the 'classic' John Hughes' film "Sixteen Candles" (1984).

The comedy film starring Molly Ringwald was number nine on her "The Last 10 Films I've Seen" list, which we are not printing in its entirety to avoid a potential federal cease and desist lawsuit from Gavin Smith (the editor of "Film Comment). But, we will mention that other films on the list included "The Social Network," Never Let Me Go," "Greenberg," and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," which surprised us too!

SIDEBAR: There are a whole host of special screenings going on in Virginia and North Carolina. My good friend Jason Garnett will be screening the vintage 2003 good/bad movie "The Room" on Nov. 22 and 24 at 7:00 at the Shadowbox Cinema in Roanoke, Va.

Closer to home, my friend Joe Scott will be screening the vintage 1984 Prince film "Purple Rain" this Thursday at the Carousel Luxury Cinemas in Greensboro, NC, at 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Lastly, the classic 1969 Oscar-winning film "Midnight Cowboy" with Dustin Hoffman and hippie turned tea bagger Jon Voight will be shown at the Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC, for a week-long run starting on Friday.

SIDEBAR TWO: George W. Bush's new memoir, a book I will not be reading (I'm a hippie turned coffee partier), is apparently a tough book to sell in San Francisco, so Green Apple Books, a San Fran book shop, will be giving all funds from the sale of the book to veterans, according to "San Francisco Weekly."

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Jaaack-O-Lantern

For those of you who reside in a remote village in Azerbaijan, this image above is of Jack Nicholson who played Jack Torrence in the Stanley Kubrick film version of "The Shinning," based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.

King is to this day reportedly displeased with the Kubrick film. Interestingly enough, Kubrick would frequently call King when it was the middle of the night in Maine, where King still resides, and ask him absurd questions like: "Do you believe in God?"

"The Shinning" is currently showing (at least of tonight) at the famed Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Tex., which is about as close to us as a remote village in Azerbaijan (we are on the east coast).

According to the IMDB, King also professed a preference for actor Jon Voight, now known more for his radical transformation from post-Vietnam hippie to a right-wing Tea Party extremist than his still emmence on-screen talents, to play the title role instead of Jaaack Nicholson.

The title of the book apparently came about when King was listening to or thinking about the John Lennon song "Instant Karma" and the line: "We all shine on."

Last Ten Films I've Seen---Three with Bruce Dern

Three of the last ten films I've seen, "The Trip" (1967), "Psych-Out" (1968) and "Coming Home" (1978) feature the great character actor Bruce Dern (father of Laura Dern, pictured here) who turned 76 on Friday. Dern recently played Frank Harlow in the hit HBO series "Big Love," which still may not play well in Provo, Utah (since it's about fundamentalist Mormons with lots of wives).

"The Trip" also featured Dennis Hopper, who died last week. He had also just turned 76 some two weeks before his death. "The Trip" which also featured Peter Fonda was a precursor to "Easy Rider."

Even though "Watermelon Man" (1970) was made by a black filmmaker in Melvin Van Peebles (Mario Van Peebles' father), I'm not sure it would get made today as it deals with a racist white man who becomes black overnight. Sadly, the star of the film Godfrey Cambridge died at age 43 in 1976 while on the set of a tv movie with Kirk Douglas in which he was to play Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Here are the films:

1. "Watermelon Man" (1970. dir-Melvin Van Peebles)
2. "Personal Best" (1982. dir- Robert Towne)
3. "The Trip" (1967 w/Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper. dir-Roger Corman)
4. "Psych-Out" (1968 w/Jack Nicholson. dir-Richard Rush)
5. "Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973. w/Robert Mitchum. dir-Peter Yates)
6. "Coming Home" (1978. w/Jane Fonda and Jon Voight. dir-Hal Ashby)
7. "The Girl Can't Help It!" (1956 w/Jayne Mansfield. dir-Frank Tashlin)
8. "The Special Relationship" (2010. HBO TV movie about Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. dir-Richard Loncraine)
9. "Dog Eat Dog" (Colombia. 2008. dir-Carlos Moreno)
10. "It Happened One Night" (1934 w/Clark Gable. dir-Frank Capra)

SIDEBAR- There is a great blog entry by my good friend Moviezzz about the very short-lived tv show "Tales of the Golden Monkey" (1983-84). At the time, all of us thought it was a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" rip-off, but as it turns out the producers had submitted the idea for the show before the epic film came out in 1981!

The Last Ten Films I've Seen (As of Last Night)

I will do this a bit differently this time as I have in previous "Last Ten Films I've Seen" entries, by listing the films first and then commenting on (most of) them:

1. "Midnight Cowboy" (1969. d-John Schlesinger)
2. "My Best Girl (1927. d-Sam Taylor. Film starred Mary Pickford)
3. "To Be and To Have" (2002. doc. France. d-Nicolas Philibert)
4. "Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi" (2003. Israel. d-Shemi Zarhin)
5. "You Don't Know Jack" (2010. d-Barry Levinson. Film made for HBO).
6. "Greenberg" (2010. d-Noah Baumbach)
7. "Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire" (1970. Japan. d-Kenji Misumi).
8. "The Mouse on the Moon" (1963. d-Richard Lester).
9. "Panic in the Streets" (1950. d-Elia Kazan)
10. "His Girl Friday" (1940. d-Howard Hawks)

As one might have noticed, none of these films feature b-western star Hopalong Cassidy (pictured here), but I thought I would feature his image with this list because my friend Gary who runs a vintage small-town cinema near Greensboro, NC, once told me that folks came to the movie theatre to see "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969 thinking (by the title) that it was a western!

It is in fact a movie about a gay street hustler from Texas (played by Jon Voight) who comes to New York where he meets a city drifter (played by Dustin Hoffman) and befriends him. For many who have seen the iconic film, which is the only X-rated film to ever win a Best Picture Oscar, and were familiar with Voight's very left-of-center politics, it is indeed shocking that he is now a fringe right-winger who even speaks at Tea Party rallies.

But, what I found to be more startling while researching "Midnight Cowboy" for this piece was that the film's openly gay director John Schlesinger (1926-2003) himself reverted to political conservatism! He allegedly said that "Midnight Cowboy," which portrays homosexuality in a negative manner, would not get made today because of political correctness. Of course, one would also think that the rise of '80s Reagansim and the religious right in recent years would make it difficult for a major studio ("Midnight Cowboy" was made by MGM) to back such a film either.

"My Best Girl" is a delightful late-period silent film (by 1927, most films were incorporating sound) which is said to feature the best performance of screen darling Mary Pickford, once dubbed 'America's Sweetheart.' She won an Oscar the following year for "Coquette" and she lived into her eighties until her death in 1979.

"Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi" may sound like a French film from the title, but it is actually an Israeli film which has nothing to do with the Palestinian-Israeli political rift. It is actually a startling examanition of teenage sexuality which is surprisingly frank. The film comes across as a cross between John Hughes' "Sixteen Candles" and Larry Clark's highly controversial film "Kids."

"You Don't Know Jack" is about the famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) Armenian-American assisted suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian which features a stellar performance from Al Pacino in the lead role. The moving film is being shown just weeks after a controversial article about assisted suicide appeared in "The Atlantic."

"Greenberg" shows a very different side of lead actor Ben Stiller. It is a surprisingly sexually overt film, even by indy standards. Stiller is great, though I felt this film which I saw at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., lacked a satisfying resolution.

"Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire" is a Japanese samurai-themed b-movie which has a cult following. It came out about the same time as the countless Godzilla-Mothra sequels did.

"The Mouse on the Moon" may seem slightly dated, but it is a biting Cold War satire from Richard Lester, who is one of my favorite directors, though I think it is unfortunate that he is best-known for his two Beatles films ("A Hard Day's Night" and "Help") when he made many other vintage films- my personal favorite being the 1965 film "The Knack--Or How to Get It). Lester is still alive and in his late seventies, but he no longer makes films.

"Panic in the Streets" is unique for being a film noir directed by Elia Kazan (not a genre he is known for) and a great performance from a very young Jack Palace.

"His Girl Friday" is said to be Howard Hawks' best comedy, and it is amazing that Rosalind Russell's amazing performance alongside Cary Grant was completely overlooked by the Academy Awards (she wasn't even nominated!).

Quote of the Week- Jane Fonda

Today, in honor of the Oscars which were held last night, we are quoting the two previous Oscar-winners for Best Actress and Best Actor from the 1978 film "Coming Home," Jane Fonda (here) and Jon Voight (on our other blog: Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time).

"Coming Home," directed by the late Hal Ashby, was considered to be an excellent film about the plight of returning Vietnam veterans. The film lost out to another Vietnam War veteran film "The Deer Hunter," directed by Michael Cimino, in the 1978 Oscars.

But, "Coming Home" landed acting Oscars for its two stars and some film critics maintain it is a better film than "The Deer Hunter." Though Ashby is one of my favorite directors, I actually haven't seen "Coming Home" since it aired on network television when I was a teenager (I no longer consider seeing a film on network tv with commercials as seeing the actual movie!)

Interestingly enough, both Fonda and Voight who were vocal liberal activists in the
'60s and '70s have become devout Christians, but Fonda has mostly maintained her politics while Voight has done an about-shift and evolved into perhaps the most radical right-winger in Hollywood (not counting Chuck Norris).

Fonda also won a Best Actress Oscar for "Klute" in 1971. And, she appeared in a wide range of films at the height of her career, including Jean-Luc Godard's brilliant French film "Tout Va Bien!" (1972), which I saw very recently.

Last night, Fonda tweeted her disappointment that the late Farrah Fawcett was not included in the list of film industry people who died last year. Though Fawcett was best known for the '70s tv series "Charlie's Angels," she had appeared in a number of films including "The Apostle."

Here is the quote from Fonda who once declared that she had retired from acting though she has appeared in a few films and performed on Broadway in recent years:

"A good many dramatic situations begin with screaming," Fonda said.

Merry Christmas from Michael Moore!

The most famous man to come out of Flint, Mich., formally wished all his followers on Twitter a Merry Christmas. To be fair, so did John McCain's daughter. Here was the message Moore tweeted last night (actually X-mas Eve):

"Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve. Let's hope 2010 is a more peaceful and just year."

Moore's latest doc "Capitalism: A Love Story" is now on dvd. It's not Moore's best film, but it was a fairly good effort. I find Moore a bit idealist as I am a supporter of the war in Afghanistan and he is not. Though I do agree with him MUCH more than the likes of Glenn Beck.

"An American Carol," a very bad right-wing slapstick comedy featuring Kelsey Grammer and Jon Voight in showing on Showtime throughout December. I must say I love the Turkish actor who played an Afghani terrorist in that movie, but he should be waterboarded for taking the part (I am a Turkish-American).

Coincidentally, Pat Boone the subject of an entry on this blog on Dec. 23 was featured in Moore's first film "Roger and Me."

Moore also said that he liked the new epic mess "Avatar." I did not, and neither did my good friend Moviezzz (http://www.moviezzz.blogspot.com) though as I said on Facebook last night I somehow hate James Cameron's most famous film "Titanic" even more!