I love the secrecy that surrounds every Woody Allen project, the way a film would be mentioned as “Woody Allen Fall Project 2002” or “Woody Allen Summer Project 2008.” That is still the case; sometimes little is known about his latest film until just weeks before it opens.
Take “Blue Jasmine,” which opens later this month. I’m not sure if anyone was certain that it was a drama until the first trailer dropped. After all, this is a cast that includes Louis C.K. and Andrew Dice Clay (!). Surely, we could expect laughs, correct? Perhaps not, as the trailer seems quite dark — darkly comical, perhaps, but dark all the same. I think? This IFC.com post summed it up nicely:
“The tone of this trailer is all over the place, making it difficult to tell if ‘Blue Jasmine’ is meant to be funny or sad. The story, the music, the fact that we see two comedians who don’t actually do anything funny — everything could be taken both ways.”
We’ll find out in just a few weeks. Until then, let’s start our round-up with some nicely vague details on Woody’s NEXT film, set to star Colin Firth and Emma Stone. (It looks like this level of secrecy is nothing new; check out this article from 1982.)
- Woody goes back in time again? I can dig that. (Via The Film Stage.)
- My girlfriend Rooney Mara stars in a lovely new Calvin Klein commercial directed by one David Fincher. (More on Mara-Fincher soon.)
- A unique interview with the author of two essays on David Lynch’s “Lost Highway.”
- David Thomson on Lynda Obst.
- I’d never heard of Walter Hill’s first film … until I read this.
- Is “The Lone Ranger” “everything that’s wrong with Hollywood” or a misunderstood masterpiece? I’ve not seen it yet, but my money’s on “neither.”
- Cannon Films may have been the craziest studio of all time; here is a documentary and a website devoted to the Golan-Globus empire.
- Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler BFF-ing at Wimbdledon.
- The amazing Cinephilia and Beyond offers just about EVERY essential Stanley Kubrick documentary.
- And lastly, Turner Classic Movies cements it status as cable’s finest network with a month-long tribute to Francois Truffaut. Oui.
Photo: Left to right: Director Woody Allen, Cate Blanchett, and Alden Ehrenreich
Photo by Jessica Miglio © 2013 Gravier Productions, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics