The Sundance Festival, the first big movie jamboree of the year, kicks off on January 15th in Utah. As ever, we hear whingeing that the event is too mainstream, but several intriguing flicks will be on display.
Philip Owens, a distinguished Irish editor, long resident in Los Angeles, nudges Reel News in the direction of Doug Pray's fascinating documentary Art & Copy, which is in competition. Keep your eyes peeled for screenings on this side of the Atlantic.
Batmania in nerdsville
If you want to sell papers, then just speculate about casting in the - unconfirmed - third Batmanfilm.
Before Christmas, the Sun suggested that Eddie Murphy might be cast as The Riddler, which immediately sent the internet into such a spin that steam began emerging from its exhaust ducts. "There is not one shred of reality in any of these rumours," Harry Knowles of barely literate Ain't It Cool News fumed. "If ANY OF YOU believe any of this bullshit, you have found some crazy awesome drugs."
To be fair, The Sun's further suggestion that Shia LaBeouf was to play Robin did cast doubt on the paper's sources. Everything about Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knightseemed calculated to annihilate the camp humour that has preciously accompanied Robin's appearances.
Eager to increase our visibility, we are formally launching the rumour that Adam Sandler is to play the Penguin. If that doesn't get the nerds angry, then nothing will.
Remember December
Here's a quandary. What do you mean by 2008? The question is inspired by a glance at the nominations for the 29th London Critics' Circle Film Awards. On the shortlist for best film are
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, Wall-Eand The Wrestler. A full 80 percent of the films nominated by the London critics have, you will note, yet to open in the British capital (or, here, for that matter).
Now that Hollywood unveils so many of its prestige releases in December, viewers in the UK and Ireland often encounter Oscar hopefuls in January. As a result, organisations such as the LCC and Bafta have played with the calendar and decided the year now starts in March.
Meanwhile, Sight and Sound, the veteran British cineaste magazine, continues its characteristically eccentric approach of allowing virtually anything into the list. Where else would There Will be Bloodappear in both the 2008 and 2007 charts? Still, Steve McQueen, whose Hungertopped the Sightand Soundpoll, will care little for such anomalies.
A cartoon catastrophe
What was the biggest flop of 2008? Speed Racerwas a considerable bomb, The Women didn't set the world alight, and Australia underperformed. But many industry boffins have fingered an obscure animated release called Delgoas this year's biggest catastrophe. Despite being released on more than 2,000 US screens, the movie - a fantasy thing involving forbidden love and flying beasties - managed to take in less than $500,000. That works out at about $237 per screen. Don't expect a sequel any time soon.
Didgeridoo as a thingamigig
Nicole Kidman has angered her homeland's native community (or some nuttier members of it). After spotting the Kidbot playing the didgeridoo on German TV, some crank . . . erm, we mean "an award-winning actor, screenwriter and Aboriginal language teacher" . . . went into a very public rage. "I will guarantee she has no more children," Richard Green raved. "It is not meant to be played by women, because it will make them barren."
Younger readers should be aware that, despite Mr Green's comments, there is no evidence that precoital didgeridoo playing works as a contraceptive.
dclarke@irish-times.ie
