This Must Be The Place

It's almost September again - and you know what that means: time for the fall film festival (c'mon - a little alliteration never hurt anyone) season to commence! Most people know it's fall when the leaves begin to change, the thermo drops a few degrees, and the smell of burning fills the thinning evening air. Others know it's fall when they lay their eyes on the warmer dreads littering their local fashion hole. I know it's fall when the serious, gritty, award-worthy films begin to roll out and the talk of the town consists of cries, not whispers, of "Toronto" and "NYFF"! To me, fall in NY is spending the majority of my evenings and weekends in front of the silver screen.

I recently became a member of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which means getting advance tickets to New York Film Festival screenings. For seventy-five bucks, it ain't a bad deal. Order forms are mailed out tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get to snag tickets for the films I'm burning to see. Sure, there are dozens of brooding domestic and international releases on the newly-revealed line-up. But I'm most looking forward to Darren Aronofsky's THE WRESTLER and Clint Eastwood's CHANGELING. First of all - it's Darren Aronofky directing Mickey Rourke. I personally think Mr. Rourke does not hail from planet Earth and these days he looks something like a mix between Michael Bolton and Joan Rivers, but that's half his charm. He doesn't get enough work, and Aronofsky's never made a bad film. Shame on you if you didn't like THE FOUNTAIN.

Clint...Clint...Clint...I'm so relieved he got his WW2 rocks off and returned those overdue books to the library. Where Clint reigns king is in the slow-boiled social crime and semi-melodramatic realms. He hit it with MYSTIC RIVER and MILLION DOLLAR BABY, and, well into his seventies, he shows no signs of tire. Angelina Jolie is hit or miss with me - but hopefully The Man with No Name will make better use of her acting chops in a period drama than Deniro did in THE GOOD SHEPHERD.

That's it for now - I need to bulldoze my way through a recent bout of writer's lag - I won't call it block because it's not that - I'm halfway through a new script, but getting used to a new professional job and the adjustments that come with it, I need to refine my writing schedule. I'd vote for continuing to write in the evenings - but I think I may have to start waking up with the rooster.