A detailed look at Mulholland Drive

Rob Ager's latest series of videos looks at Mulholland Drive. Here's part 1. And speaking of, check out this Japanese movie poster, available at eBay:

Film analysis by Jim Emerson

Great video by Jim Emerson explaining why the Dark Knight's big chase sequence is so badly edited and confusing (I'd like to see a comparison which the thrilling chases in Ronin):



Here's another video where he analyzes the brilliant opening to The Prisoner:

A history of Michael Bay

GQ has a very lengthy article about Michael Bay. Here's a bit about Bad Boys:

Klein: There's this scene where Will Smith runs down a street, and at the first test screening in Lakewood, California, women were screaming because Smith's shirt is flying open. That was it. He was a star.

Bay: We had an argument about that shot.

Smith: He was like, "Oh, take your shirt off and run with the gun!" And I was like, "Come on, man. That's just on the edge of corny." But he can take things that you'd think of as corny, and make it supergalactic iconic.

Bay: I was like, "Look at this! You look like a movie star!" And he's like, "Shit, I do!"

Smith: That was the moment for me where I learned how important single images are. That single image took me from a comedic television actor to a potential movie star. The scripts that I started to get offered changed dramatically. It was the first time that I heard women react to me with an audible gasp. There was a transformation from the cute guy next door who could make you laugh to a guy who might be able to handle himself in a bar fight and a bedroom.

And Armageddon:

Klein: Ben [Affleck] was new on the scene. We put him through the Bruckheimer-Bay machine—like, You're no longer chasing Amy. You're going to have to go to the gym, get a tan, get a haircut.

Bay: Jerry had a problem with his teeth. "He's got baby teeth. I fixed Cruise's teeth. We're going to fix his teeth." So Ben got a beautiful set of teeth out of it.

Relatedly, here's a great recut Transformers 3 trailer by Monocular honoring Bay's special brand of movie-making. "Shut up and eat your awesome":



Finally, speaking of Transformers, here's color photos of the Revoltech Optimus Prime available for preorder at the BBTS:




Via these sites.

Link roundup

1. Gavin Rothery on the filming of Moon:

We had two space-suits made for Moon, and were both identical apart from an orange stripe on suit 2. The actual costume was lined with double-layered duvet and was hot as a bastard. To compensate for the way body heat built up and the lack of any naturally moving air inside the helmet, Bills' chaps filled a motorized fan inside the helmet chin-area to provide ventilation, de-misting on the faceplate and a cool, refreshing breeze. I'm a huge fan of Bill Pearsons' work but that fan was rubbish. It just sat there next to my chin, whirring quietly and blowing the most minute waft of slightly cool breeze roughtly equivalent to a piece of dropped A4 paper. It was right in front of my face when I had the helmet on, teasing me with the promise of cool refreshment and never delivering. One time, whilst waiting to go for a take, I was in position and all alone and quiet up the top of some scaffolding straining to hear the shouted stage instructions to go. The fan was teasing and annoying me by doing shit-all. Annoyed by it's ineffectiveness, in a fit of pique I decided to show the puny motor who's boss by stopping its' pathetic drone by inserting my tongue into it. Which I did, and lost a little chunk out of the side of it.

2. Ann Althouse asks about the TSA, "How would you like it if your job suddenly changed to requiring you to feel people up all day long? And everyone started to hate you? And it seemed as though maybe you could be accused of committing crimes — thousands of crimes — including the molestation of children?"

3. "Twice a century, India is attacked by huge rat armies that devour crops in massive destructive waves and leave people without any food. Scientists long dismissed it as an urban myth...until they discovered that it really happens, and why."

*Buy Moon posters at eBay.