good morning boys & girls! yes it’s friday and we all know that the end of the week means new movies at the cinema! one delightful film opens today called for your consideration which is the 4th film from director/writer christopher guest – you probably know his previous films waiting for guffman, best in show, and a mighty wind – he uses the same cast of actors in each of his movies – all of them quite talented and very capable of handling his improv method – for me ‘guffman’ was hands down my favorite film of his – the other two were ok but i’m very happy to report his latest film is his best work since ‘guffman’! i was lucky to have caught the film a few weeks ago and it was just so charming & witty – pure enjoyment where you don’t have to think about any heavy issues!
co-written with the super funny eugene levy this latest guest film pokes fun at hollywood and that zany award season – following the production of small indie movie called ‘home for purim’ (which is a semi-obscure jewish holiday) which happens to get a little internet ‘buzz’ going on which sends the amazing catherine o’hara on a major headtrip when after being an acting workhorse for so long she gets a glimmer of hope for a possible nomination for her work in ‘purim’! she plays a dying mother who has an estranged daughter played by the lovely parker posey who returns home to make peace with her mother over the purim holiday!
now normally in a guest film there are plenty of interviews shot with the characters – on this film he felt he had done that before and strayed a bit from his normal formula…now how did i know that? well this past saturday i attended the press junket where i got to hear mr. guest answer questions in person along with his partner in crime mr. levy! y’all know i’m not a journalist (and i don’t pretend to be one…) so i always feel a drop out of place at these sorts of things but gosh it’s so much fun to be in the same room with people you admire & respect – getting to hear them talk about their craft – it’s one of those amazing experiences! plus i’ve heard some people who are ‘journalists’ ask some very asinine questions – so with each press junket i attend – i feel a bit more confident! besides as a bonus there’s always a nice swanky breakfast set-up!
everyone was curious about the whole improv set-up that the director employs – the scenes of ‘the movie within the movie’ were scripted but the other parts were often done with a hint of improvisation but it does have to fit into the framework of the film – a treatment is created and of course certain bits of information have to come out of each scene but he shoots a ton of footage – he filmed for 27 days and edited for two whole years! it was very obvious that he has a lot of confidence in his cast – he told us these aren’t the people he could get but the people you do get when you attempt a film like this – each actor in attendance didn’t think twice about joining in on this film…
jane lynch who was so hilarious in person said you just wait for the phone call to come in and when it does – it’s an immediate yes – without even knowing which character she’ll be playing this time around! she was paired up with fred willard who everyone praised for having such a unique energy and presence – him and ms. lynch play hosts of show called ‘hollywood now’ which is a geat spoof on shows such as ‘access hollywood’ & ‘extra’ – apparently ‘entertainment tonight’ doesn’t want to run anything on the film – the film’s sendup of these types of shows is side-splitting!
of course i adored seeing parker posey in person…first off she is beautiful! she was stunning in person – i swear the gal was glowing! but of course where ms. posey goes – kooky isn’t far behind – she came in the room with a fairly large needle point project – it was like a hobo clown of some sort – and the entire time she was working on it – i couldn’t take my eyes off of her – someone even told her ‘congratulations’ and she was all ‘what for?’ and the lady said ‘for being you’ and parker graciously accepted the compliment and said ‘why thank you!’ of course superman returns came up – in which she stole every scene she was in – the basic jist was the a big film like that is a lot more pressure and stressful than enjoying a stint on the latest chris guest film!
now onto mr. guest himself – he was very even keeled – i can’t really explain how he was – very monotone and quiet – super reserved but obviously an extremely smart man! my dear pal nathaniel wanted me to find out why his wife jamie lee curtis was never in any of his films…once i saw his demeanor i thought to myself – i cannot ask him that – it just seemed inappropriate at the time and his whole calm quiet aura was not beckoning to pry – but some girl asked the very question that we were all curious on…at first he acted confused – ‘jamie lee curtis? you mean the actress?’ he went on to tell us that when they got married twenty-two years ago (go them!) that both of them decided to keep their personal & professional lives separate! once the cat was out of the bag people jumped right on that train asking him if he ran things by her – he said he does show her the treatment but not until after it’s pretty set – then someone asked him if she ever gave him an idea – he thought about it for a second and said no – so there you have it – all about him and jamie lee!
the last set of actors to come in were jennifer coolidge & catherine o’hara – both ladies are so fucking funny – it’s sick! ms. o’hara i would consider to be mr. guest’s main muse – she is brilliant in this film! i wish we’d see more nomination for people tackling comedic roles – it’s not just all about the drama! a recurring theme of the morning was the absurdity of hollywood in general – everyone agreed there had been things crazier in real-life that if placed within the film no one would believe (someone dressed up in a full on dog costume to interview chris guest when he was doing press for ‘best in show’) ms. coolidge was so chill and cool in person i was blown away – she was all ‘do you wanna hear a good story?’ she told us she ran into a producer in town (who remained nameless) one day and they told her how brilliant she was in for your consideration raving on & on about her performance…the very next day she ran into them again – and they asked her what she thought of the latest chris guest film and told her they hadn’t seen it yet!!! so one day they love you – the next day you’re told they didn’t see the film! it’s a town full of phonies ms. coolidge said! plus she told us it’s no mistake that she always plays the dumb one – gosh i would love to hang out with her – she is one cool cat!
so i told you the other day i had to meet ms. o’hara – she has done a ton of film & television but there’s one film that i simply adore that she starred in…1988’s beetlejuice – yes that wacky tim burton film that also stars geena davis, alec baldwin, and a young winona ryder! catherine plays ‘delia deets’ who is an artist and a very neurotic new yorker that is forced to move to the country with her husband played by jeffrey jones – i had to repeat one of my favorite lines to her from the film…this is my art, and it is dangerous! do you think i want to die like this? for those of you who know the film – you must remember the part! ms. o’hara laughed and was so kind and told me she actually met her husband on that film – he did the production design – we both agreed that it’s one of those wacky films that is much adored! oh i was on cloud nine – i’ve loved that movie for so long – so once again it was one of those moments – where you’re like WOW!
and WOW is right – my goodness this my be my LONGEST post ever!!! for those of you who made it to the end – there’s a special treat at the end – i have a few for your consideration items up for grabs…
One Grand Prize winner will receive the following official For Your Consideration product: official signed movie poster, official turkey
baster, and official magnetic mirror
Two First Prize winners will receive the following official For Your
Consideration product: official movie poster (unsigned), official turkey baster, and official magnetic mirror
the first three people to email me the correct answers to this two part question will get the above goodies! thanks for bearing with me through this very long post – in the end you must just go see this movie – it’s excellent! ok now here’s the question – it’s a two-parter…
What was parker posey‘s character named in ‘waiting for guffman’? and where did she work in the film? send your answers over to me at mk@popbytes.com – i’ll update the post once i have three winners – good luck! popbytes over & out for now…xxoo!
UPDATE we’ve got winners! congrats to grand prize winner clint and first prize winners jodie & hannah…the correct answers were ‘libby mae brown’ and she worked at the ‘dairy queen’! if you haven’t seen ‘guffman’ – do yourself a favor and rent it today!
PS the film has its own youtube page which you must check out over at youtube.com…
